Belated Leverage post
Jul. 28th, 2009 07:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lagilmanI will go up front by saying that I don't like boxing, or any of its spin-off sports. I acknowledge both the sport and the science of it -- but I don't like watching it. Give me football, where there's a reason to hit another guy other than just to make him go down, and I'm much happier.
But for a plot that revolved around that (and the fanservice to CK's legions of squeeing fans, and don't deny you lapped it up like kittens at the cream, my dears), I rather liked the Tap-Out Job. If only for the "she's killing me" whisper from Hardison. *giggles madly* Also, the silent shout-out to The Incredible Hulk made me snerk. "You not like Eliot when he's angry." Anyway, it wasn't my cuppa, and yeah it had a cliched ending you could see a mile away, maybe, but there were enough small flourishes [and strong performances] to make it belong to this particular crew. So I rate it 'well-played,' and I hope they get away from the "we've been found out/busted' theme for the rest of this season [at least until Sterling comes back].
One thing that stuck out for me is how they're using certain themes to tie the character arcs together. Not just the obvious "who am I?" self-identification thing any con artist interaction requires, but also "what am I?" Back in "12 Step," Nate has a line about "maybe I'm a bigger bastard when I'm sober." Here, there's the line about "you've taken the safety off the gun" by drugging Elliot. In one case, alcohol distracted the brain so he wasn't the worst/most destructive he could be [and with that wit and that brain, you know he could be much nastier, yeah]. In the second, the drugs [would have] released the most dangerous Elliot could be. But in both cases, you have men who have something inside that -- for the sake of those around them -- thy feel has to be contained and either controlled or blunted. The question that makes me wonder is: are they right? Or are they afraid of themselves, rather than what they might do to others?
And when are the writers going to get to Parker?
[yes, this is the fannip for me. Or is that pronip? Whatever, it is why I sniff this stuff and then roll on my back, paws in the air and whiskers quivering, after each episode]
Oh, and another thing I'm noting about this show? The choreography. I mean, it's obvious they think about their blocking, but it goes beyond that -- the crossing and recrossing of sightlines and physical movement, the way they set the cameras to catch unique angles [things like the group session in "12-Step"], it's as pleasing to the eye as a dance movement. [Example: the repeated motif of the gather-and-turn wheel at the end of the first, penultimate and ultimate episodes, which would not be so effective on paper, but is just brilliant as character development shorthand, visually]
But for a plot that revolved around that (and the fanservice to CK's legions of squeeing fans, and don't deny you lapped it up like kittens at the cream, my dears), I rather liked the Tap-Out Job. If only for the "she's killing me" whisper from Hardison. *giggles madly* Also, the silent shout-out to The Incredible Hulk made me snerk. "You not like Eliot when he's angry." Anyway, it wasn't my cuppa, and yeah it had a cliched ending you could see a mile away, maybe, but there were enough small flourishes [and strong performances] to make it belong to this particular crew. So I rate it 'well-played,' and I hope they get away from the "we've been found out/busted' theme for the rest of this season [at least until Sterling comes back].
One thing that stuck out for me is how they're using certain themes to tie the character arcs together. Not just the obvious "who am I?" self-identification thing any con artist interaction requires, but also "what am I?" Back in "12 Step," Nate has a line about "maybe I'm a bigger bastard when I'm sober." Here, there's the line about "you've taken the safety off the gun" by drugging Elliot. In one case, alcohol distracted the brain so he wasn't the worst/most destructive he could be [and with that wit and that brain, you know he could be much nastier, yeah]. In the second, the drugs [would have] released the most dangerous Elliot could be. But in both cases, you have men who have something inside that -- for the sake of those around them -- thy feel has to be contained and either controlled or blunted. The question that makes me wonder is: are they right? Or are they afraid of themselves, rather than what they might do to others?
And when are the writers going to get to Parker?
[yes, this is the fannip for me. Or is that pronip? Whatever, it is why I sniff this stuff and then roll on my back, paws in the air and whiskers quivering, after each episode]
Oh, and another thing I'm noting about this show? The choreography. I mean, it's obvious they think about their blocking, but it goes beyond that -- the crossing and recrossing of sightlines and physical movement, the way they set the cameras to catch unique angles [things like the group session in "12-Step"], it's as pleasing to the eye as a dance movement. [Example: the repeated motif of the gather-and-turn wheel at the end of the first, penultimate and ultimate episodes, which would not be so effective on paper, but is just brilliant as character development shorthand, visually]
