The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Arts Tuesday, November 24, 2015 — 5 TV REVIEW ‘High Castle’ proves Amazon’s acumen New dystopic series adds substance to Amazon’s lineup By DREW MARON Daily Arts Writer There’s a scene in the pilot of Amazon’s newest original drama, “The Man in the High Castle,” that will stick in your mind regardless of whether you choose to continue watching. It involves a routine traf- fic stop where resistance truck driver Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank, “Gossip Girl”) is stopped by a highway patrolman. The encounter feels normal and neighborly despite the patrolman’s swatstika. Then, out of nowhere, ash starts snowing down on the characters. The highway patrol man explains, in a casual tone, that the ash comes from the hospital where various “undesirables” are being incinerated. The characters then go along with their day. “The Man in the High Castle,” based on the acclaimed novel by the late Philip K. Dick, represents Amazon’s latest foray into original content, and it does not disappoint. The series comes to us from execu- tive producer Ridley Scott (“The Martian”), whose classic film “Blade Runner” revolutionized science-fiction for the screen and brought Dick’s work to the atten- tion of Hollywood. Since then, the once-ignored author has received a plethora of big-screen adaptations including “Total Recall,” “Minor- ity Report” and the criminally underrated “A Scanner Darkly.” “The Man in the High Castle,” however, represents a huge leap forward in adapting Dick’s work. Free from the restrictions of main- stream feature films, “The Man in the High Castle” is an epic, sprawling dystopia that is one part political thriller and one part hor- rifying parable of what happens to a nation engulfed by fascism. Though the series does feature many characters connected to the struggle of the resistance — a major but welcome change to the source material — the most unset- tling aspect of the series aren’t big set pieces (though there are plenty) but the quiet moments of resigna- tion, where we witness Americans who have moved on with their lives following the most heinous war crimes in human history. Like all great speculative fiction, “The Man in the High Castle” is as much about today’s world as it is about post-World War II America. In both “The Man in the High Cas- tle” and, unfortunately, our own world as well, challenging author- ity and people’s personal percep- tions is a near-impossible task. The only hope for a better future exists as a series of film reels called “The Grasshopper Lies Heavy,” which shows an alternate reality, one where the Allies have won the war. Ironically, it seems the only hope for us to have any meaningful, intelligent discourse is through platforms like “The Man in the High Castle.” As in the novel, we follow a number of different perspectives, including Juliana (Alexa Davalos, “Clash of the Titans”), a young woman seeking the film reels’ cre- ator, the mysterious Man in the High Castle. On the way, she runs into fellow resistance fighter Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank, “Max”) who may have some secrets of his own. The series also sees Cary- Hiroyuki Tagawa (“Mortal Kom- bat”) as Nobusuke Tagomi, the Trade Minister of the fictional Pacific States of America, whose allegiances lie against the tyr- anny of the Reich. Tagomi, along with Juliana, are truly the main heroes of the show, and Tagomi’s storyline on the show will hope- fully mirror the tremendous arc he goes through in the novel. Finally, Rupert Evans (“Hell- boy”) plays Frank Frink, a half- Jewish factory worker and boyfriend of Juliana whose luck finally runs out after his signifi- cant other becomes the target of the SS. Rufus Sewell (“Dark City”) rounds out the cast as Obergrup- penfuhrer John Smith, whose solid, albeit par for the course per- formance might be unfairly com- pared to the Jew Hunter played by Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds.” It’s the world of the “Man in the High Castle” itself, however, which truly stars as the series’ main character. Despite the show’s bleak tone, the cast and crew cre- ate a highly engrossing alternate universe that is always believable. In particular, the much freer Japa- nese territories showcase a fusion of Eastern and Western cultures that reminds American viewers how ignorant the view of the Allies as all-good and the Japanese as equal to the Nazis truly is. The series has already ignited a great deal of discussion, and for good reason. Despite its genre and its more fantastical elements, “The Man in the High Castle” might be the most political show currently produced. Though some of the characters, notably Tagomi, aren’t given their deserved spot- light in the pilot, the first episode of the “Man in the High Castle” proves that Amazon can stand on its own as a creator of qual- ity content and that the time for challenging, thought-provoking entertainment is far from over. AMAZON “What the hell is an Obergruppenfuhrer?” ALBUM REVIEW Freddie Gibbs sells out in new album By SHAYAN SHAFII Daily Arts Writer Freddie Gibbs is nothing if not consistent. The man is admittedly one-dimensional and deadpan in his delivery, but my god, is there any- one else who has gone this long without a single weak project? Just when his mixtapes became noticeably formulaic and safe (box Chevys and backwoods appear in everything he touches), he sur- prised us all with the surprisingly versatile Piñata, the best rap album of 2014, which is not up for debate. Gibbs set the bar realistically high with mixtapes that brought a high- er level of artistry to street rap; he was the only dude who could give you chills through a song titled “Let Ya Nuts Hang.” Up until now, Gibbs has had a flawless track record. He under- promised and overdelivered with all of his album-quality mixtapes, and matched the higher expec- tations when it counted most: album time. Albums understand- ably come with higher standards, and Shadow of a Doubt falls pain- fully short of what was supposed to be his breakout project. Straight from the jump, Shadow feels uncharacteristically generic. It’s as if he fleshed out all the ele- ments that made his music unique and special, leaving only tidbits of an album he couldn’t seem to make. There are still flash-in-the- pan moments when he seems to get it right, but they’re few and far between. There’s no jarring street-journalism, no smooth MadLib-curated soul sample, no left turns — nothing. He does just enough for the album to be toler- able. For example, he has a song titled “Narcos,” where the most gruesome line is “Chillin’ in my grandma basement / Probably dreamin’ ‘bout some cocaine.” On “Mexico” he recruits Tory Lanez (aka the “Great Value” Ty Dolla $ign) to yell “My whip color look like Rihanna / And all my bitches like designer.” Gibbs doesn’t get on much better, with three verses about nothing, not even selling drugs. “Mexico” confirms that Gibbs has become too concerned with being a “rapper” and less concerned with being Freddie Gibbs. If that isn’t bad enough, what follows is the worst song of this dude’s career. “Packages” is so embarrassing I thought it was meant to be ironic at first. Gibbs, a man from Gary, Ind. (home of the Jackson 5), has absolutely nothing to do with the triplet flow that’s been booming in Atlanta the past few years. So when I heard him ad-libbing “I keep a pistol on me” with what sounded like his best Quavo impression, I was con- vinced this was a joke. But then the signature 808 Mafia sirens went off, and that was that. Gibbs sold the fuck out. That’s not to say Shadow Of A Doubt is all bad. Gibbs reached out to fellow Jeezy-hater and leg- end Gucci Mane for “10 Times,” another great Midwest trunk- knocker he’s so well known for pioneering. The song segues straight into “Lately,” which surprisingly features R&B style crooning weaved into thumping percussion. There’s even some of the smooth melodies he experi- mented with on Piñata. “Forever and a Day” is the obvious standout track, where he scrolls back to the autobiographi- cal bars that immersed and won over his fans to begin with. For the first time on the album we get some real feelings. “I done did a lot of bad thangs’ just to get change / I done took it some levels that a lot of n****s won’t go” is hesitantly spit with just the right amount of regret. “Slung crack rock / Never had a wicked jump shot” summa- rizes his opportunities in Gary: basketball or eight ball. But what ultimately makes Shadow a disappointment is that this is the first time Freddie Gibbs has come up against a hurdle that wasn’t comfortably below him, and he failed. He sold out to find workarounds, forced artificial personas that hadn’t existed in his six-year run and marginalized himself to be as safe and boring as possible. Gibbs was never known for trying to be “cool” or “smart,” but he had a polished identity, and that’s all we can ask for. The instant he compromised himself and put on an olive green bomber jacket, Shadow of a Doubt was always going to be a shit album. By REBECCA LERNER Daily Arts Writer In “Brooklyn,” the film adap- tation of Colm Tóibín’s novel, we see the careful rendering of a story that has been told one thousand times: the immigrant narrative. But “Brook- lyn” distin- guishes itself through its creators’ ability to draw the loveliness out of a situ- ation fraught with hardships. “Brooklyn” begins at a fork in the road for Irish country girl Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”). She can stay with no definite prospects in Enniscorthy, Ireland with her cherished mother (Jane Brennan, “The Tudors”), sister (Fiona Glascott, “Indian Summers”) and friends, or she can immigrate to the unknown in America. As illustrated by the title of the film, she chooses the latter and sets out for Brooklyn. Eilis receives accommodations at a boarding house run by the amusingly tart Ms. Kehoe (Julie Walters, “Paddington”) and finds a job at a department store. Some of the most humorous moments of the film come from her interactions with the women who have lived in America for a while, as Eilis’s awkwardness and social anxiety in the city is juxtaposed with their urban American experience. These relationships between similarly aged young women could have easily devolved into rancorous competition for cheap amusement, but they always make an effort to help and guide Eilis. But even with friends in her boardinghouse and guid- ance from an Irish priest (Jim Broadbent, “Big Game”), Eilis is overcome with homesickness. Ronan a dual citizen of Ireland and America, sensitively por- trays the frustration of being torn between two places. As she adjusts to her new life, Eilis starts to take and excel at her accounting classes at Brook- lyn College, unapologetically pursuing her dream of being an accountant despite being the only woman in the class. Her homesickness evapo- rates quickly when she meets Tony Fiorello (Emory Cohen, “Smash”). Tony is a sweet, pup- pyish Italian boy with whom she locks eyes from across the room at an Irish dance. Their courtship is a nostalgic whirl- wind that will make even the most cold-hearted of critics sigh and long for 1950s-style bathing suits. But the sentimen- tality of their love never borders on sickly sweet or annoying because their romance is always firmly rooted in the reality of their lives. Just as everything starts to seem a little too perfect, tragedy strikes back home, pulling Eilis out of Brooklyn and sending her back home to her mother. At home, she finds comfort in the familiar. She also finds another suitor, Jim Farrell, (Domhnall Gleeson, “Ex Machina”), and the whole town seems to be pushing them together. As she decides between Brooklyn and Ireland, and between Tony and Jim, Eilis seeks to answer the question of the movie: how to, as a person of multiple identi- ties, define the word “home.” The emotional effects of the film would be lost without the command of the camera by director John Crowley (“Closed Circuit”). Crowley creates a subtle but undeniable binary between America and Ireland in his use of cinematography, shown most clearly in the scenes on the beach in both countries. In New York, Tony takes Eilis to Coney Island, and they must dash between the hoards of peo- ple to get to the water to swim, kiss and laugh. But in the sweep- ing shots of the Irish beach she goes to when she returns, there is no one around for miles. With Eilis in the same bathing suit in both scenes, we can see her being entirely comfortable in either setting. Crowley presents this opposition, and we watch as she chooses her future. “Brooklyn” is not just an immigrant narrative. It is the touching story of a young woman caught in a state of uncertainty — uncertainty in her family, career and relationships. The film may be set in the 1950s, but its messages of the confusion of youth and divided identity will endure for years. FILM REVIEW ‘Badlands’ need work By MATT BARNAUSKAS Daily Arts Writer AMC runs on “The Walking Dead,” and for good reason. The zombie apocalypse series is still television’s biggest hit, even though its ratings are lower than in prior seasons. This strong viewership becomes even more important as AMC relies on “The Walking Dead” to endure through an extended transitional period following the loss of “Breaking Bad” and the recently concluded “Mad Men.” Already, the network has released a spinoff, “Fear the Walking Dead,” and now plans to use “The Walking Dead” ’s sub- stantial audience to build a lead- in for its new martial arts series, “Into the Badlands.” Set in a post-apocalyptic world where guns have been banned and seven barons fight for power, “Into the Badlands” presents a world where hand-to-hand combat reigns supreme with visual flair. This strong display masks some lackluster storytelling, but it can’t hide every shortcoming. “Into the Badlands” follows Sunny (Daniel Wu, “The Man with the Iron Fists”), the best warrior (or “Clipper”) under Baron Quinn (Marton Csokas, “The Lord of the Rings”). Right away, the series establishes its protagonist as a force to be reckoned with. Draw- ing from Chinese kung-fu influ- ences, action director Stephen Fung (“Tai Chi Hero”) and mar- tial arts coordinator Huan-Chiu Ku (“Fist of Legend”) develop an over-the-top style, where combat- ants move with almost inhuman speed and agility as they fight to the death. One standout scene is a rain-drenched battle between Sunny and four bowler-hat-wear- ing assassins sent by Quinn’s rival baron, the Widow (Emily Bee- cham, “28 Weeks Later”). The fight is shot with cinematic flair; long takes and slow motion create an engrossing sequence that never overuses any one effect. As Sunny, Wu and his stunt dou- ble Tengfei Tang (“The Forbidden Kingdom”) bear the most weight in selling these sequences, they’re up to the task — not just pulling off the choreography, but bringing a cool confidence to the warrior. Sunny is a conflicted fighter who swears loyalty to Quinn, a man who saved him years ago, but wishes to define his own path in life. This desire manifests itself in Sunny’s forbid- den relationship with a doctor, Veil (Madeleine Mantock, “Edge of Tomorrow”). Always stoic, Wu hides Sunny’s torment under a col- lected demeanor. It’s a straightfor- ward character and could benefit from more nuance as Sunny tries to define his existence. Sunny’s difficult situation is heightened after he rescues the mysterious young man, M.K. (Ara- mis Knight, “Ender’s Game”), in the episode’s opening. Claiming to come from somewhere beyond the Badlands, M.K. is supposed to bring a new hope to Sunny, but the character is incredibly grat- ing. Whether it’s poor writing or bad delivery on Knight’s part, M.K. usually comes off as a smart- ass brat. After hearing Sunny’s name, he snidely remarks, “Why? Because you brighten everybody’s day?” If that reads poorly on paper, it sounds even worse when spoken. Hopefully, M.K. improves, as the show has invested a lot in explor- ing the character’s enigmatic origins and abilities. However, if Knight can’t endear M.K. to the audience, his journey of discovery will instead become an unwel- come labor for viewers who would rather spend time with someone else — potentially on another net- work. The other storylines also struggle to distinguish them- selves. Quinn deals with a dis- contented son, Ryder (Oliver Stark, “My Hero”), who the warlord believes isn’t ready to take his place. Meanwhile, Quinn’s new wife, Jade (Sarah Bolger, “Once Upon a Time”) competes with Quinn’s first wife and current matriarch, Lydia (Orla Bradley, “American Odys- sey”). While not necessarily ter- rible, these threads lack any real intrigue in their current forms. “Into the Badlands” needs to improve its storytelling or risk becoming an unwelcome delay between excellent fight scenes. However, there are other elements that stand out for the new series. A strong production design creates an interesting atmosphere and sparks inter- est in the show’s larger world. Quinn’s plantation-like fortress calls into question how other pockets of civilization and cul- ture have developed and how the other barons manage their hold- fasts. However, there are some elements that don’t mix well: the Eastern-influenced, warrior class Clippers occasionally clash with the Southern antebellum and old West aesthetic that most of the other characters have. As a companion to “The Walking Dead,” “Into the Bad- lands” works well as a visually engrossing action series. It’s lighter fare than its emotion- ally exhausting lead-in, but “Into the Badlands” needs to strengthen its narrative to live up to its own visual standards and to keep its promising audi- ence. Nuanced ‘Brooklyn’ A- The Man in the High Castle Series Premiere Amazon A Brooklyn Wildgaze Films State Theater ESGN Probably singing about some cocaine. C- Shadow of a Doubt Freddie Gibbs ESGN TV REVIEW B- Into the Badlands Series Premiere Sundays at 10 p.m. AMC