Television Review: "Mad Men" Season 5 (****)

It may seem so long ago, but the more I reflect on "Fringe"s fourth season, the more worthwhile and tenderly soulful it seems. An odd note to start on, but hear me out before scampering off. The fourth season of "Fringe" tackled a massively ambitious, and thus equally risky, storyline. When you erase one of your main characters off the face of existence, that happens. I think I've taken it to heart that when you take massive risks, the results are inevitably going to be a bit messy, but they are no less worth it, I feel. "Fringe"s fourth season allowed us to revel in the show's most camptastic genre splendor, while simultaneously further investigating the emotional connections of its characters.

"Mad Men"s fifth season, much similarly, took many a huge risk in the stories that it decided to investigate. The world we were introduced to at the start of this season was one of being quite simply adrift. Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce was almost frozen in shock, still so long after Lucky Strike abandoned them and placed their future in question. In this world of such active indecision and struggle, it really caused our characters to examine the strengths in their own lives. What resulted was a full scale investigation of aging, decay, death, and are we willing enough to fight that? Are we even capable of winning such an uphill battle that seems so impossible to reach?

"Fringe" Review: "Back to Where You've Never Been" (***1/2)

That is a rather fantastic title for an episode that is quintessentially about trust. Peter has realized that there's no chance of Walter helping him out on this side, so he asks for Olivia and Lincoln to help him cross to the alternate universe. Why can't he use the bridge? Because Broyles doesn't trust Peter enough. Why doesn't Walter's portal device rip apart the universes like it did 28 years ago? Because the link between the universes seems to have halted the degradation and diminished the impact of holes in the universes. The writers aren't stepping around these plot points, but accommodating them for a much more exciting story.

With a layer of distrust still existing between the two sides, the only thing to do is to step around each other deceptively. Of course that doesn't work out, and Lincoln and Peter are caught rather quickly, and their story would be stopped right if there wasn't a shapeshifter driving their transport. Of course we don't see that he's a shapeshifter, but at this point it's assumed. The two split, Lincoln is apprehended by Alt-Lincoln and Bolivia, and Peter heads off to ask his mother for help, as you do. But this show has never been about the events, but about the specificities of the exchanges between characters. You wonder how the two Lincolns can exist in the same scene together believably, and against all odds they do, and quite hilariously as it turns out. Peanut Butter & Jam.

My Case to Academy Voters on Behalf of Jared Harris!

Yesterday the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences placed nomination ballots in the mail to be delivered to the voting body of 5,783 members, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. This means that the majority of Academy members will be receiving them today and the remainder will receive them throughout the end of this week. They then have until January 13 to submit their completed nomination ballots.

In the miniscule chance that any voting member of the Academy happens to follow Film Misery, I would like to invite any reader to post their own For Your Consideration ad for a particular category. Make your case in the comments for why the particular film or performance that you favor should be written down on an Academy member’s ballot and submitted.

That was taken verbatim from the offices of one Alex Carlson of Film Misery, and it definitely got me out of the funk I've been in for the past couple days, and I'm here writing again so I might as well take him up on his challenge. I'd suggest the same for you. So here's my plea, after the jump of course.

Quick Takes: "Sherlock Holmes" & "Hugo"

It's been a downplayed week of cinema for me, with nothing of note until I finally hit the weekend. While most films are getting the full review treatment, there are some that I just don't have much to say on. And for now, I thought I'd hold off on the pre-2011 films I saw and focus on the matter at hand.

"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows"

Directed by Guy Richie

As hinted at in my box office report, I am of a conflicted nature on Guy Richie's second outing in his "Sherlock Holmes" vein. Yes, the story has expanded to a more relevant, believable, and fascinating nature, which is all the more fitting for the introduction of Holmes' nemesis Moriarty. The problem it faces is the expansion of its own technique, which was fine to begin with in the first film. The relatively low-budget aesthetic worked for what was required. The $35 million more that was spent on it makes it feel all the more like a blockbuster effort, and as such loses a degree of the soul it had. It's that separating factor that was evident in "X-Men" and "Harry Potter" earlier this year, and continues on here.

But again, there is a strong story being put to the test by Richie's group, and Moriarty is depicted as perfectly as he possibly could have been. He's not as intentionally evil as he seemed in the previous film. Jared Harris goes to the limited extremes with his performance, going just far enough to not be a cartoon villain, but not banal either. Harris thrives more than anyone else on the payroll. In fact, since he's not a comedic player, he avoids both the film's advantage and its bane, that being its wit. It's not that it's not funny, but it's thrown in at every possible avenue that it's overkill. It drags the film down with it and becomes repetitive very quickly. However, the scenes with Harris are done to perfection, and one particular action sequence of the film is amongst the more fascinating of this year.

"Hugo"

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Scorsese has always been leading the charge as far as the topic of film preservation has been concerned, so it figures that it's only a matter of time before he makes a film about it. "Hugo" is the achievement of that endeavor, but isn't an achievement of much more than that. The story seems to have been selected merely for the relevance of Georges Melies within it. Could he have picked a more in tune story? Sure, but this seems particularly suited to send the message to children generations. What does that come sewed together with? Horrendous child performances from Asa Butterfield and Chloe Moretz, and a typical story that is never really motivating. If it is, that's from simple juxtaposition with "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close". In short, we don't feel his devotion, even if we do see it. I just felt cold and unmoved throughout the entirety of it ridiculous length. Rarely is two hours too long, but a story like this doesn't work for that long.

For Your Anticipation: Stag Party

Early this morning, while discussing odd ideas of who should direct the next Bond film after Sam Mendes, my friend brought up Guy Richie as a strong candidate. As interesting as that would no doubt end up being, I maintain that Guy Richie is best where he currently is. "Sherlock Holmes" offered him to most prosperous catalyst for his brand of creativity, and his continuance in that vein is something to be celebrated. He's got a solid field that isn't prone to heavy casting decisions. Case in point, villainous character Moriarty is played by "Fringe" and "Mad Men" star Jared Harris. The biggest name? God no! The best name? Hell yes!

"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" Trailer

I'm never going to get beyond that mediocre subtitle of "A Game of Shadows", but "Sherlock Holmes" is looking a great deal more interesting with this second trailer for the film. Just yesterday I was worried that they'd stop marketing the film after that horrible teaser. I don't caution seeing this film as serious, especially after the first one. Yes, there's some cunning intelligence in the pot, but it's ultimately very silly and ridiculous. The first trailer pushed that latter point a bit too much. Glad to see there's still a mind behind the series, even if it's fantastically stoned. Still have one complaint, and that's that there's not enough Jared Harris. Are the marketers worried nobody cares about him?

Jared Harris is Moriarty in "Sherlock Holmes 2"

I feel so emphatically grateful to hear this news, because they were swinging around some brilliant names to play the main villain in the Sherlock Holmes sequel. From Brad Pitt to Daniel Day Lewis, we were almost sure we had an idea of what was in store. However, I thank Guy Ritchie for taking a complete U-turn away from expectations and choosing Jared Harris for the part. Harris has played roles that skew from amazing character-depth (Mad Men) to ridiculous insanity (Fringe), and I've loved each and every one. I can't wait to see what Ritchie and Harris have in store for us. If done not only correctly, but perfectly, I could see a Supporting Actor possibility in Harris' awards future.