PARADOX: HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO?

I continue to note that the world of cinema has been greatly opened with the invention of the DVD. Movies that once only played in specialty theaters if at all are now available far and wide for anyone to enjoy with little effort in seeking them out. A quick order to amazon and within a few days a movie is on your doorstep.

One of the most interesting countries to release films this way has been China. While many think of films from this country as little more than the poor quality kung fu movies we grew up with the current climate of films from China is amazing to watch. Fantastic photography joined with solid stories and high level amounts of action make these films ones to seek.

PARADOX falls into this category. Police detective Lee Chung-Chi (Louis Koo) heads to Thailand when his daughter goes missing. The two had a falling out over her unexpected pregnancy and intention to marry while underage. He arrives and finds help in the person of police Chinese detective Chui Kit (Yue Wu) and his Thai partner Tak (Tony Jaa).

Running alongside this story is that of the local mayor, a highly powerful politician, who suffers from a heart attack. His only chance for survival is a new heart and his organization is willing to do anything they can to insure that he gets one. This may make it obvious (at least it did to me) where the story is going but the unspooling of it is what makes the film work.

Following clues Lee goes off on a suspect and is told to stay out of police business. Instead he goes rogue and tracks down a lead on who abducted his daughter, a corrupt officer in the police force. He captures him just as Chui also gets a lead on the same suspect.

Both men then discover that the main person responsible not only for this abduction but several others is a man named Sacha. As they both get closer to their man an inevitable confrontation is soon to follow. Along the way there are plenty of high speed car chases, hand to hand battles and guns blazing before the outcome is revealed.

The movie offers all of those things I mentioned as being part and parcel with the new cinema coming from China. The acting loses little in translation here with all involved providing great performances. The direction is superb with a story that flows smoothly even when jumping back and forth in time and location. And the cinematography is astounding with the sharpest of images on view and well-chosen camera angles to capture the action taking place.

Of particular note is the fact that the fight choreography was done by Sammo Hung. Hung has been involved in Chinese films for years first making a name for himself alongside his friend Jackie Chan before starring the CBS series MARTIAL LAW back in 1998. The job he does here makes the actors flow smoothly during the fight sequences.

I can’t suggest strongly enough that people should open themselves up to new experiences in movie viewing and at least make an attempt to watch a few foreign films at times. This is a good place to start and my guess is after watching you’ll seek out more. Well Go has done an amazing job of providing plenty of films to view that are quality products each time. This one is no exception.

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MIDSOMER MURDERS C0UNTY CASE FILES: WHODUNIT?

Fans of British television are well acquainted with the series MIDSOMER MURDERS. The series still airs and has been on for over 20 seasons now. A show doesn’t last that long unless it has something to offer and this one does.

The county of Midsomer seems to be fraught with murder and when one occurs it’s up to DCI (Detective Chief Inspector) John Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon) to make sure that the culprit is apprehended. With the help of DS Ben Jones (Jason Hughes) each episode finds the duo looking into the latest murder to occur.

The series also presents Barnaby as just another guy, a man who knows how to do his job and do it well but who also has a home life. There he and his wife Sarah (Fiona Dolman) are dealing with their newborn child while trying to live life as normally as a detective’s life can be. In some episodes she even helps him with information he’s seeking.

The series isn’t like what we expect to find here in the US. Rather than hour long dramas that actually run closer to 45 minutes each, this series is composed of what would qualify as feature length film episodes, closer to 90 minutes running time. In so doing it gives us plenty of time to digest the actions taking place and to sift through the clues presented in each new case.

This collection brings together all 15 cases from Series 16, 17 and 18 which is when the character of John Barnaby took over his position. Each one offers their own little quirks that make them different from one another. One might have a magician performing in a local church to help raise money for its restoration, another a book club promoting the latest work of a deceased pulp fiction author that finds two people electrocuted by a roulette wheel like characters in his first book were. Whatever the facts of the case are you can be sure they won’t be your everyday average murder.

The series does what it must do to last this long and that is entertain. It does that in spades here with cases that hold your attention and the development of ongoing characters that you come to care for. That’s a point that some series never strive for and in so doing they short change the viewer. Here we care about them and want to know more about what goes on when not solving murders.

As with a number of series like this only one thing bothered me. Sure, we expect numerous murders in big cities like London but these are small villages here. If you are to believe shows like this the most dangerous place to live is a small village in England. Then again if these murders weren’t happening then we wouldn’t be enjoying a series that focuses on looking for those murderers would we?

The production values here and great to look at. They capture the look and feel of these villages in Midsomer County and portray what appears on the surface to be a calm and laidback style of living. At least if it wasn’t for people getting killed each episode.

The acting is top notch with each person involved making their characters believable. Dudgeon and Dolman actually feel like a married couple enjoying their new child and working together to make sure that feedings and rocking to sleep happen by one or the other. Hughes portrays a right hand man to perfection never overstepping his role but providing just the right amount of assistance needed.

While I’d heard of the series I’d never had a chance to see it until this set arrived. I’m glad it did. Now I can sit back and enjoy watching these over and over again, knowing the second time around who the guilty party is and watching for those tell-tale signs of guilt as the story unravels. And when I finish I’ll have to go back and seek out previous seasons to see if they match in quality. With little doubt in my mind I’m guessing they will.

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LOVE, LIES AND RECORDS SEASON 1: ROMANCE IN THE STRANGEST PLACE

Who would ever have thought that one of the most interesting and original series could take place in a registrar’s office? And yet that’s exactly what you’ll find in this series. The sad news is finding out that no season two if forthcoming. Compound that with cliffhangers here and perhaps a campaign to see it start again is in order.

The story revolves around Kate (Ashley Jensen), one of the main registrars in the Leeds Register Office. Kate has an incredibly busy life to lead not only due to work but her home life as well. Her son complains and wants, her daughter is having issues with self-esteem and her stepson is going through a breakup so has moved in with her and her companion Rob (Adrian Bower), a police detective. Yes even though her job is to marry folks she’s not married herself as the show opens. She and Rob juggle responsibilities with the kids as best as they can.

Off to work she goes only to find as much turmoil there as at home. James (Mark Stanley) is a co-worker who is about to change from male to female. Rick (Kenny Doughty) is a co-worker Kate had drunken sex with at the Christmas office party. And Judy (Rebecca Front) is the office wet blanket, an enforcer of rules and creator of same. Various other office mates are found but these are the ones with storylines this time around.

For James his story is the entire transgender situation. He’s comes out to the rest of the group and advises them that he’ll be dressing as a woman forthwith. He tells Kate he’s going to tell his wife and the end result of that doesn’t go well. She kicks him out not wanting their two teen boys to see him like this. With no place to go he ends up adding to the crowd at Kate’s home sleeping on the couch. His struggle takes various turns through this first season.

The other two have differing issues all due to the recent retirement of the head of the registry office. Everyone immediately assumes that temporary head Judy, the perennial butt kissing rule obeying and oft hated co-worker, will get the job. All are pleasantly surprised when supervisor Matthew (Matthew Marsh) lets them know that Kate has agreed to take the position full time. Everyone except Judy.

It seems that Judy has found the footage on the office CCTV of Kate and Rick having their fling in the storage room. She uses it to blackmail Kate, promising that if she decides to stay on the job she’ll make Matthew aware of the footage as well as Rob. With so much going on in the office she gives her time to make her move.

Rick continues to pine for Kate. He’s fallen in love with her and admits it’s always been that way. What was a onetime thing for Kate is something Rick wants to make more permanent, willing to abandon his girlfriend to spend his life with her. Kate is flattered but rebuffs his advances.

But she’s not quite sure about her own emotions. Is she still attracted to Rick? And what about Rob? Is there a reason that they two of them never married? To complicate that the two discuss getting married now only to discover that Rob never divorced his first wife officially.

As all of this drama behind the scenes is taking place there is plenty more out at the desks. One involves a young man who wants to marry his dying girlfriend. She put off treatment for her illness because she was pregnant. With the child here and dying they want to marry now. That changes into a story involving registering her death later.

Another involves a group of marriage scam artists and human trafficking. Girls forced into the country illegally gain citizenship status and then are forced to marry so the men can stay once their visas expire. With a little bit of intuition and a lot of research Kate pulls Rob into their investigation. This will either result in utter failure or capturing a group of criminals. When one of the girls ends up dead the stakes are raised.

Not enough stories yet? Well there is also the use of a plotline involving same sex marriage just made legal about the time of the series starting. Several same sex marriages with various issues involved are brought into play but mainly as a way of showing the prejudice Judy has towards this now legal procedure. Her maneuvering to not have to marry same sex couples comes into play with the back and forth issue of who will run this office.

The series is incredibly interesting no matter what your views are on different topics at hand. And while you may not support a character who has a one night stand you feel for her with the predicaments that follow. Her decisions aren’t always the best ones to be made. She’s human and makes mistakes just like the rest of us. Add in the touch of police drama in trying to catch the human traffickers and it gets more interesting.

Perhaps the biggest weakness of the show is the full blown open mindedness of Kate. She accepts nearly everything that people decide to do, not only accepting but encouraging everything. With James she counsels him to carry on with who he wants to be ignoring the issues it might cause for his family. With same sex marriages you get the feeling she’s happier for those couples than the others whose weddings she officiates. Her own personal views on marriage seem at odds to her own situation most of the time. But it is these weaknesses that make the character more human than most offered on series these days. They provide a depth to her.

But the show has a bigger weakness. That’s the fact that there is no second season. By the time I finished watching this I wanted to know what happened after that last episode. And yet apparently not enough interest was garnered for it to go. How that can be after only 6 episodes is confounding. So for now we’re presented with those episodes on disc to enjoy more than once. And my guess is that given the chance you will find the show as interesting and enjoyable as I did.

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