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The Bob’s Burgers Movie: Flippin’ Hilarious

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After many years, Bob’s Burgers finally gets a chance to serve up some fun on the big screen. 

Admittedly, it a little bit of a surprise that the film is going to really be released in theaters. As the pandemic bit the box office receipts, Disney has shown its willingness to bump its films from theatrical to streaming. (Sorry Pixar.) So, because of their network connections, it was almost expected that Bob’s Burgers would be sent onto Disney+ for subscribers. However, Disney has shown tremendous confidence in their product and have waited patiently for restrictions to loosen in order for Bob’s Burgers to properly open to the public. 

It seems as though their confidence has paid off. 

To those who are unaware, The Bob’s Burgers Movie (re)introduces the world to Bob Belcher and his family. As the owner of the fast food restaurant Bob’s Burgers, Bob and his wife, Linda works hard to keep their small business afloat. With summer vacation almost here, Bob, Linda and their three kids, Tina, Gene and Louise are shocked to discover an enormous sinkhole blocking the entrance to their establishment. To make matters worse, Louise accidentally discovers a dead body in the hole, unlocking a mystery that threatens to close the business forever. As the danger continues to rise, Bob and his family work together to crack the case and, more importantly, keep the doors to Bob’s Burgers open.

It should be stated that my experience with Bob’s Burgers Is somewhat limited. With only a handful of episodes under my belt and limited knowledge of the series, it’s hard for me to know whether or not this film particularly pays off any fan expectations. However, as a new customer myself, I can tell you that The Bob’s Burgers Movie is delightfully hilarious with a biting sarcasm that makes it worth ordering up. (But, note to parents who aren’t familiar with the series, this is another example of an animated film that’s not targeting little ones with its humour.)

Interestingly, in a lot of films for established series, the film often tries to get bigger in its scope. Long road trips or massive storylines designed to break the characters out of their traditional roles are often the order of the day. (For example, The Simpsons Movie took Homer et all on a trip to Alaska while the entire city was captured by the US Government.) Though Bob’s Burgers keeps it relatively simple. Though the story involves a murder investigation (literally) outside their own front door, the furthest the family travels is down the street. In fact, Bob and Linda are more concerned about their ability to keep their floundering family business up and running than they are any potential suspects.

At its heart, The Bob’s Burgers Movie is ultimately about what it means to lean into our fear. Here, almost every one of the characters are struggling to prove themselves. Whether it’s Tina’s desire to ask out a boy from school, Bob trying to keep his business afloat or Louise’s attempts to show that she’s not a ‘baby’ (The ‘B’ Word!), each of these characters have their deepest insecurities exposed. 

But with summer fast approaching, the clock is ticking for them to make their big moves.

Although summer is usually awaited with anticipation, it spells dread for the Belcher family. What should be a time where dreams come true runs head first into a wall of cold, hard reality. Bills to pay, missed opportunities and the challenges of growing up weigh heavily on the Belchers and leave them trapped by their own fear. Though, as their troubles increase, each member of the family is called to lean into their anxiety and find the courage to make things right. 

So, yes. Even if you haven’t been in on the series, The Bob’s Burgers Movie remains deliciously funny with its biting, adult-skewing satire. In fact, I might even go back for seconds.

The Bob’s Burgers Movie is available in theatres on Friday, May 27th, 2022.

The Funny Side of Sci-Fi: 1on1 with Mark Jackson (THE ORVILLE)

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Set on the titular U.S.S. Orville, a mid-level exploratory space vessel in the 25thCentury’s Planetary Union, The Orville is a sci-fi adventure that reveals the lighter side of the darkness of space. Airing on Fox and developed by Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy), the series follows a crew of lovable misfits as they discover new worlds while trying to hold themselves together as well. When offered the role as the ship’sartificial intelligence science officer, Isaac, star Mark Jackson couldn’t resist the opportunity to be a part of such a unique series.

“The Orville is set for 100 years in the future and we are in the world of the Union, which is a conglomeration of planets and the alien races that have gotten together,” he explains. “The action takes place on the USS Orville, a Union ship, which is set with the task of exploring the universe, greeting new races, and often doing boring things like dropping off cargo. But generally they do have fun times… [When the opportunity came,] I jumped at the chance, to be honest with you.”

One of the most attractive elements to the role for Jackson was the opportunity to work with comedian Seth Macfarlane. Filled with his unique blend of comedy and charm, Macfarlane is not only The Orville’s lead character, he’s also involved in every aspect of the show.

“Seth is everything on this show,” clarifies Jackson. “He’s written it. He obviously stars in it. He produces it, he show-runs. It’s entirely his baby and it’s incredible to work on a project where someone is the entire genesis of the project. That’s quite unusual. Usually, there’s so many different factors involved, which there are, but he sort leads on all of them. It’s amazing to see him work like that.”

With MacFarlane at the helm, one might expect that much of the comedy stems from improvised moments onset. However, Jackson insists that every scene is carefully constructed and relies heavily on the show’s tightly written comedic scripts.

“We haven’t improvised and I think that’s testament to just how precisely cleverly thought out the script is when it comes to us performing it on the day,” he states. “It changes and we will often have rewrites but that’s very common in TV and film. It’s part of the fun actually. Once you’ve got the script and you’re standing on set, [those lines are] what you’re going to say. That might sound quite draconian, but it isn’t at all. It’s pretty liberating, actually. When you’re standing on set in front of a camera, you need to have some sort of solidity in your life. So, a script that you can actually rely on is a very welcoming thing.

Much of MacFarlane’s unique brand of humor stems from his ability to highlight the awkward but human nature of his characters. According to Jackson, it’s this lovable messiness that gives the show its charm and relatability.

“In terms of the characters being awkward, it’s a closer reality to what we’re used to in most sci-fi shows,” he believes. “I think that’s where the charm of it lies. I mean, Star Trek is wonderful and I’ve always loved it but it’s a big glossy. You don’t see the ins and outs of daily routines and the kind of mundane things that we all have to deal with in our own lives…. it’s a great source of comedy in The Orville. People don’t really think about, but it takes a long time to get anywhere in space. There are several moments across the two seasons of The Orville where they have to go to a different part of the universe and it takes about seven days. So, they feel like, until the very exciting moment happens with lots of action will take place, we’re on the ship and we’ve just got to kind of got to get along with each other. So, you have people just going for a drink at the bar. You have people just passing each other in the corridor and trying to make chit chat in the elevator. It’s beautifully observed everyday life in a very unusual situation.“

Although it’s been referred to as a ‘throwback’ to other classic sci-fi series, he maintains that the show is also passionate about wrestling with current issues that matter to today’s contemporary culture..

“I think the show builds on all the giants of science fiction past and stands on the shoulders,” he asserts. “So, I think in terms of ‘throwing back’, I suppose The Orville takes all the best elements of those shows and combines them with something actually quite forward-thinking. This idea of looking to the future and trying to solve the problems of today, I think the show does really well. One of the great things about sci-fi is that you can take modern day issues and transport them to a place where it’s quite a safe environment to deal with them. We take the episodic nature of Star Trek: The Next Generationand the innocence and hope that you have with that show and we then bring that forward and deal with issues of today. If you think of that as a throwback in any way, it can only be a good thing”

“Sci-Fi allows us the opportunity to take issues which are a bit too painful or too complex to explore in the current socioeconomic environment and throw them onto a planet on the fringes of the galaxy 7,000 years in the future… It immediately throws a new light on the subject, but also potentially provides us with a way to tackle it in ways that we haven’t thought of yet. Distancing yourself from things can be very productive in a way.”

Playing science officer Isaac, Jackson has thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to be a part of the show’s incredibly talented cast. Asked what he finds most appealing about his character, he says that he can’t help but enjoy playing a character who is so wildly different than himself.

“It’s interesting when you play someone who’s considered a bit of a psychopath, when people ask you [how you connect to him] because you [wonder] how revealing should I be?,” Jackson jokes. “What kind of bizarre, disturbing facets of my own personality can I lay on the table here? [laughs] Quite frankly, the appeal of playing him is that he is so weird and different and is so unhuman. You get to go to places that you wouldn’t necessarily get to go to a normal, human character.”

As the premiere of Season Two fast approaches, Jackson asserts that he’s thrilled with the show’s ability to step up and deliver scripts that continue to develop and expand the world that it has created.

“Everything you loved from Season One is going to go into overdrive in Season Two,” he declares. “We just step it up again so much. Every time we got the new scripts, they just read like movies [in] each and every episode. There’s so much more action. There are new characters. The relationships develop in very unexpected and thrilling ways, and I can say that for Isaac as well. We get more aliens. The alien production workshop has been in overdrive this year, which has been great in the effects. And the music! I don’t know if you know, but the music is recorded with a huge orchestra for every episode. It’s absolutely beautiful and so rare to have that on a TV show. So, just expect super quality, great stories and a hell of a lot of adventure.”

Season Two of The Orville begins on Sunday, December 30th, 2018 on FOX.

For full audio of our conversation with Mark Jackson, click here.

Hail to The Post: 1on1 with Bruce Greenwood

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Set in the later years of the Vietnam War, Katherine Graham, publisher of the Washington Post, and her editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) suddenly find themselves in the possession of papers exposing the American government’s cover-ups. As her shareholders are growing anxious and question her ability to lead, she and Bradlee must decide whether they will put their careers—and lives—at risk by publishing the truth that they have uncovered in an effort to hold their elected leaders accountable for their actions.

Directed by Steven Spielberg and featuring an all-star cast, The Post brings a key moment of American history to life that showcases the damage that can be done to our culture through the misdeeds of the administration. Playing former Secretary of Defence, Robert McNamara, in the film, veteran actor Bruce Greenwood felt it was quite an honour for Spielberg to consider him for the role.

“It was just one of those miraculous things about planets aligning,” he begins, “and, for some reason, Steven thought I was the man to invite. He called me and said ‘Would you like to do it?’ and when I picked up the phone from the floor (laughs), I said okay!… We’d had a few brief conversations but I wasn’t that sure he even knew who I was. It was doubly surprising that he reached out to me for this. Then the research began and the conversations began. You get to the set and you look at the call sheet and the call sheet is a list of people that you could only dream to work alongside.

Greenwood’s enthusiasm for The Post is palpable, but he is far from alone. The film has an energy and heat emanating from the cast that is visual from beginning to end. Greenwood claims that the earnestness of the film stems from the current political climate.

“I think that Amy Pascal became aware of Hannah’s script, and it was a passion project. When she took it to Steven, it really began in earnest,” he recalls. “I think he had a project that he was in the midst of getting in motion and he felt strongly, from what I understand, that now was the time and not a moment too soon to make a movie about this. That urgency coupled with the political passion of everyone involved… but I don’t know if it’s just a political passion but a desire to do right by this country to remind everyone that democracy is a fragile, fragile bubble. It doesn’t take much to puncture it.”

However, Greenwood also contests that is importance of the film goes beyond simply the personal passions of the cast. Rather, the significance of these conversations relates to the heart of the current battle for truth itself.

“It’s the attempted smothering of the press and the maligning, the mocking, the calling into question the veracity of things being
reported on by the current administration [that makes this film so vital],” Greenwood explains. “If an administration chooses to malign, mock, diminish and otherwise impugn truthful reporting for long enough, eventually people may throw their hands up and say, ‘I can’t believe anything at all’. Then, the control of the press has been won over in that way. We the people are entitled to the truth but we don’t get it for free. We have to work for it.”

Given the current battle over the nature of truth, Greenwood is unsure what steps need to be taken in order to repair the damage that has been done in our culture when it comes to civil discourse.

“That’s a long question that requires a lot of dialogue to tease out the answer. A lot of news is incredibly partisan and the echo chambers that we all inhabit, to some degree, are dangerous places. I wish I had the answer to how we create civil discourse that allows penetrating reporting to keep us informed.”

One of the greatest strengths of The Post is the overall quality of the script. Although much of the film focuses on conversations as opposed to action, it’s astonishing how gripping the story becomes. Having found himself involved in a number of amazing projects over the years, Greenwood–who also stars in FOX’s upcoming medical drama, The Resident–feels that it’s that quality of writing that helps him know that he’s found a great script.

“The first clue is that you want to turn the page,” he clarifies. “That was what was so remarkable about this is that, even though I
knew the story at large and what was going to happen at the end, I was fascinated at how [writers] Liz Hannah and Josh managed to pull together all these arguably dry details into something in which every character had a passionate point of view and was pursuing that point of view with everything they had. This could’ve been told half a dozen different ways and not been nearly as compelling but they have a gift for endowing characters with an emotional point of view while their giving you information that you might otherwise is just plain information.”

“I think the perfect example in this movie is when Sarah Paulson, who plays Ben Bradlee’s wife, tells him what bravery is and puts in in the context of all the things that Kay Graham was up against to be taken seriously and in order to be heard. That can be just information but it was anything but information. It was a passionate pan from a woman who ultimately left her husband, describing the station of women at that moment in our history.”

Of course, his role as McNamara is far from Greenwood’s first opportunity to bring a historical character to life onscreen. Having played such real-life characters as John F. Kennedy and Jack Dunphy, Greenwood recognizes the amount of collaborative work that goes into preparation for these roles.

“[I do] a lot of reading, watch a lot of film and I continued to read throughout the shoot,” he recalls. “Of course, when you get onto the set, everyone is infused with information from their own research. Then, you start cross-referencing quotes and people and points of view with the other people that have been working on the movie and have done equivalent amounts of research that have been focused on other things. So, the dialogue at work was constantly about ‘Oh, did you know this? Did you know that?’ There was a tremendous about of cross-referencing information between all the people working on the movie. Everybody, right from the top of the call sheet to the last on the list, was made to feel like we were doing something that had to be done and had to be done right now.”

Though re-creating a historical figure onscreen can be intimidating, he also claims that there is room for an actor to bring their own perspectives to the role as well.

Says Greenwood, “I don’t think you can help but bring your own perspectives into the performance and the idea of being able to recreate somebody in a whole way will drive you mad. I can only hope to find a couple of shapes and colours in the kaleidoscope of who they were and hope that that reflects something of who they were and what they represented. I will say that, while I was talking to Carl Bernstein last night that, unsolicited, he said that watching Meryl Streep was like being in a room with Kay Graham. Some actors can do that utterly. Other actors like myself can only attempt. She’s otherworldly.”

Although McNamara would be considered one of the ‘villains’ of The Post, Greenwood believes that, despite his wrongdoing, that he still is a good man overall.

“I think he made some profound mistakes and was profoundly misguided,” he feels. “His mea culpa at the end of his life doesn’t absolve him of his responsibility of what happened in the 60s in Vietnam. But, to impugn him as a man for his profound missteps, [is] not for me to say.”

 

The Post is in theatres now.

Melting the Tin Man’s Heart: 1on1 with Terrell Carter

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In FOX’s epic series Empire, power is everything. Now in its fourth season, Empire continues to tell distinct stories and creating unique characters that break stereotypes in the genre. Following the lives of the Lyon family, the show continues to tackle a wide variety of social issues while also offering some of the finest music on television in the process. As series newcomer Terrell Carter indicates, the chance to join a show with such rare sensibilities was simply too good to pass up.

“I was able to play a role that wasn’t a traditional gay character. It also was the music. Music is my first love and, although he’s a civil rights attorney, he’s a singer also. He wants to be a singer. So, being able to play a character who’s a singer that’s also not traditional and also the nephew of Phylicia Rashad: all of those things add up to the role of a lifetime for me. Everybody on this show is amazing but Phylicia was one of my favourites.”

In addition to the appeal of working on such an incredible show, it was the opportunity to work with Phylicia Rashad that proved to be the clinching factor in his decision.

“The excitement about working with Phylicia Rashad isn’t just that she was The Cosby Show’s mother,” he reflects. “For me, growing up the way that I did… what Phylicia Rashad represented to me was something that I had never seen before. I’d never seen people live like that. It wasn’t just black or white, because, at that time, I was never thought about [that type of] separation and division, which is why it blows my mind right now. I just never thought things about it like that. I told her on the first day, that [she was] a hero to me because [she] gave me an idea that there was something else—another life—and [she] put the idea in my head that I could do something like this. [She’s] more than just an amazing actress for me in the black world. To work with her, to see that she’s gracious, beautiful, hilarious and wraps you up in all of this love but yet, at the same time, is like a queen [who is] graceful and amazing. To me, being able to work on a show like this with her, that’s a treat in itself. I couldn’t ask for anything better. [There are] all the other amazing actors on this show, but for her, it was someone who was a representation of something for all of us.”

In this season of Empire, Carter plays Warren, a relative to Rashad’s maniacal Diana Dubois who is hell-bent on destroying the Lyon family. Playing a key role in her plot, Warren is tasked with seducing young Jamal Lyon (Jussie Smollett), in an effort to put a wedge in the family unit. Nevertheless, as their relationship develops, Carter says that Warren has become conflicted.

“Warren is a pawn for Phylicia Rashad’s character, [Diana Dubois],” he says. “Warren is a little bit different than the rest of members of the Dubois family, actually. Warren has a little bit of a conscience. From the very beginning, he was kind of excommunicated and his father has kind of done things to be pushed away from the family. He kind of says yes to do this whole mission because of that situation. Kind of like a Kennedy who wants to be back in the family because your father is the one who got thrown out. So, he says yes to her before he realizes what it actually all entails. If you watch the first episode, and Diana Dubois is lying on the table, she looks at him and says she wants to pick the meat off of their bones… He kind of looks at her and says “Wow”. I don’t think it was that deep for him. I think he was just more interested in becoming a part of the family so he has a heart.”

“In his relationship with Jamal, Jamal is one of the few Lyon family members that always seems to have a heart and it just really the nicest one. So, Warren is just a guy who’s sort of guided himself into a position where he has bitten off more than he can chew, even with his own family. He’s trying to figure out whether or not blood is thicker than love or water. He’s always wanted to be a singer and, even those he’s in a position where this is a guy he’s supposed to take down, this is a guy who’s showing him things he’s always wanted to see. I think Warren is a bit torn or shaken to say ‘Wait a minute now. What am I doing?’”

Of course, one might assume that it would be intimidating to step onto the set with a cast that’s been so well established. However, Carter’s previous relationship with series regular Jessie Smullet helped make his entry onto the team much easier.

EMPIRE: Pictured L-R: Terrel Carter and Jussie Smollett in the “Evil Manners” episode of EMPIRE airing Wednesday, Oct. 11 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. ©2017 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: Jean Whiteside/FOX

“The good thing was that I already knew Jussie Smollett prior to coming. So, it was good to know someone who was part of the original cast who can sort of show you the ropes. I think that, although this was a breakout role for me, it was a role I was ready for. It was challenging, like the first day of school, for the first day or so but this was something that I’ve been preparing for so long that I was at the point where I was just excited and happy to be a part of it.”

It’s important to note, however, that Empire’s legacy extends far beyond its all-star cast and outstanding music. According to Carter, the true importance of Empire lies in its multi-dimensional portrayal of African Americans in a variety of roles.

“I think Empire is not only showing African Americans in a different light,” he argues. “It shows them in a light of power and especially with what’s going on politically and in society, it’s not just [about] African American characters. It’s talking about a lot of other social issues. The gay characters are not the traditional gay characters. There are different situations and scenarios, but, yet, at the same time, they’re still showing things that happen in the ‘hood’. They’re taking that to a different level. In Empire, they’re dealing with different issues that haven’t been dealt with in a long time in different ways. You have an all pretty much black cast (like in The Cosby Show, The Jeffersons) but that was a long time ago. This is a powerful show along with all this original music and [wraps] all of this stuff up into one.”

Given that a key theme of the show is the nature of power, Carter also asserts that power manifest itself in different ways. When asked what he thinks his character would say about power, Carter believes that Warren would argue that it relates to control.

“[Warren] would look at it from a number of different ways,” he begins. “He would say Diana Dubois. He’s torn with the same thing. Power for him would be looking at the matriarch of his family. She speaks and we all listen. But yet, at the same time, he looks at Jamal and I think he’d say the power of love and the heart. Power moves people. I think that Warren would say that, when people use the word ‘power’, it usually comes in the form of something mean or evil but not necessarily. Power is just getting people to get people to do what you want them to do by just being and saying who you are. It’s having the power over people. Jamal isn’t saying anything except adoring and loving him but, at the same time, it’s moving him to do something different than what he wants to do. He can’t help it… and that’s what power is. I think he’d say that power is just getting people to do what you want them to do when they’re powerless to just say no.”

While he thoroughly enjoys acting, it is music that is Carter’s first love, a talent that serves him well on a show like Empire. Having recorded several independent albums, he believes that music unlocks the key to his soul in a way that he could never do otherwise.

EMPIRE: Pictured L-R: Terrell Carter and guest star Phylicia Rashad in the “Noble Memory” episode of EMPIRE premiering Wednesday, Sept. 27 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. ©2017 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: Chuck Hodes/FOX

“Everything that I do, when it comes to acting, writing, comes back to music,” he muses. “Music is such a passion because it was a way for me, even as a kid to express myself. All of the things that I couldn’t say to someone in a conversation, I could sing it. Then, I learned to do it in a way that people loved how it sounds but I could write the things that are in my heart. So, music is a passion for me because it’s a way for me to express myself comfortably when I wasn’t comfortable in any other aspects in my life.”

Throughout his journey to success, Carter and his family have fought against numerous challenges that have caused them to struggle emotionally. As a result, he has also started to write a memoir that tells his story in a way he hopes will inspire others.

According to Carter, “I’m writing a book about my life story but it’s more about from a motivational standpoint. It’s for everyone who are dealing with the things. It’s about my mom. My story is that, my mom was 10 years old and she was raped by my dad who was 23-year-old who was from the same family. She was mentally retarded. All of her organs were supposed to fail. So, I was kind of this baby who just didn’t have this connection growing up and just dealing with all of that. And becoming this guy who ends up on this number one show. It’s not about ‘this is what I did’, it’s more about the journey. The book takes you on the at roller coaster ride.”

With Empire returning from its brief hiatus, Carter suggests that Warren is soon heading towards a crossroads in his relationships within the show, potentially having to choose between his love for Jamal and his loyalty to Diana Dubois.

“In the last episode, you could see on his face that there is some type of unsettled about the entire thing,” he hints. “When that comes in, the direct orders of Diana Dubois aren’t so easily delivered. Now, she is not the type of woman that you toy with. She is like the Godfather in so many ways. She doesn’t have to raise her voice and she has no loyalty to anyone. So, if you do that and don’t do what she wants, what is she going to do?”

Empire returns this Wednesday night at 9pm on FOX.

To stream our full interview with Terrell, click below.

 

Terrell Carter image credited to Eric Hobbs

Maybe We Aren’t Ready for FOX’s Shots Fired

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The Department of Justice sends an up-and-coming lawyer, Preston Terry (Selma, Race), and a seasoned investigator, Ashe Akino (Sanaa Lathan, The Best Man series, Love & Basketball), to investigate the shooting of a white college student by an African American sheriff’s deputy in a small, North Carolina town. But their investigation is a tangled web of lies and layers of racism that intersect with the murder of a black teenager previously – that no one has explored. This is the premise of FOX’s Shots Fired, created and written by Gina Prince-Blythewood (Secret Life of Bees, Beyond the Lights) and Reggie Rock Blythewood, cancelled before it even aired its final season one episode. Was it too on-point for the world we live in today?

Over the course of its ten episodes, the show revealed secrets about the practices of the sheriff’s department, through the life of the African American deputy, Josh Beck (Tristan Wilds), his commanding officer, Lieutenant Breeland (Stephen Moyer, True Blood), and the sheriff, Daniel Platt (Will Patton, Remember the Titans, Armaggedon). Local African American pastor Janae James (Aisha Hinds, The Shield, Under the Dome) wields power in the town, especially in the low economy area where the bulk of the black population lives, called The Houses; Governor Patricia Eamons (Helen Hunt, Mad About You, As Good As It Gets) has authority, but much of her power comes from well-to-do financial investors like real estate magnate Arlen Cox (Richard Dreyfuss, Mr. Holland’s Opus, American Graffiti).

This is a tangled political, social, and economic web that the African American team from the DOJ must investigate, but the lines they cross are far from easy. The blue line of the police force, the black and white line of race, and the green line of financial power and poverty threaten them at every turn; no one wants Terry and Akino there, because they might reveal the truth and exacerbate the problems before they return to Washington, D.C. If no one wants the truth to be known, how can the investigators get anywhere?

As Terry and Akino dig, they experience the deep anger and sadness of the dead college student’s mother, Alicia Carr (Jill Hennessey, Law & Order), and that of the dead African American teen killed just weeks earlier, Shameeka Campbell (newcomer DeWanda Wise). While the Blythwoods are wrapping a murder mystery into the FOX episode, the audience is gripped by the palpable grief of white and black mothers, the fear of the police force when wrestling with violence and crime, the years of hurt, abuse, and pain inflicted on the African American community, and the extent to which money, power, and white privilege are latent below the surface… until they’re not.

Adding depth to Terry and Akino are their own backstories: Terry is the less-favored brother to a Carolina Panthers star who is fighting to be accepted as a real lawyer within the DOJ; Akino is fighting for custody of her daughter, aware of her own mistakes on the job and in marriage. Both are African American, and their own biases (and perceived biases) cause them trouble as they investigate the sheriff’s department for the death of the white college student … and later the death of the seventeen-year-old African American teen.

In the midst of a world where race seems involved in every (other?) news story, Shots Fired entertained, challenged, angered, and saddened me. One African American friend told me he didn’t need to watch the show because it’s his reality; the events involving Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice… the list goes on and on… prove that what he says is all too true.

As a media critic and a pastor, I found myself torn between the desire to see “whodunit?” and a way forward through the racism and injustice. Shots Fired doesn’t wrap it all up nicely, cutely, in a box. But it does challenge our own impressions, insecurities, privilege, power, and bias. It does demand that we consider – those who embrace faith – where the line is between peaceful compassion toward reconciliation and angry, proactive action to justice. With a few exceptions, Shots Fired brings a multifaceted approach to a centuries’ old struggle in the United States and asks us to move.

I’m just not sure the audience was ready for it given the ratings. Hopefully, others will watch it on Hulu, On Demand, etc. because the truth is this:

We need more Shots Fired. We need more prayer. We need more action. We can’t watch silently any longer.

Gotham – The Complete Second Season: Darkness Rises

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gotham2Oh, Gotham, how I love and loathe thee. The darkly resplendent world of Batman, Gotham City reigns supreme with nuances that outdo the likes of Metropolis or Star City when it comes to the background that births a hero. But in the Complete Second Season of FOX’s Gotham, all hell breaks loose on the streets of the city, as villains old and new make their move to wrestle power from each other, from the police, and from the legend that will become Batman.

If you’re unclear on the premise, then consider this: Gotham takes place in a world where Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) is still a child, where Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) is still ‘apprenticing’ to Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue), and the villains of the city have no fear for any bat. While I do truly love the depiction of the young Gordon, this series (like Tim Burton’s Batman) will always be defined by the villains who stand in the way of justice and peace.

Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) is back in his smarmy, subversive way, to trouble the city, but to always stay just below the rough level afforded to the worst of the villains. Those are a combination of long-time legends like Hugo Strange (B.D. Wong) or newly created like Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith). But the show is also willing to blend the characters from the old version of Batman, the new TV-only version, and the in-between (Eduardo Flamingo, from the Grant Morrison era). Regardless of how the characters might have been born, in the darkness of Gotham, they all find a way to rise.

gotham3And yet, the pot is stirred by Theo Galavan (the wickedly creepy James Frain), who has ties to the Order of St. Dumas (which old school fans will know leads to all things Azrael). While the story seems to take us further and further into the dark, we see the cost to villains and heroes alike, and ultimately, we know there will be a place for Batman. But if there’s no darkness, Batman wouldn’t need to rise.

Thankfully, until he does, there’s Jim Gordon.

For folks interested in digging in beyond the twenty-two episodes, check out these main featurettes on Blu-ray:

-The 2015 Comic-Con Panel from the Warner Bros. lineup

-“Gotham by Noir Light” – the way that the camera lens allows for a darker look at the city

-“Alfred: Batman’s Greatest Ally” – an exploration of Sean Pertwee’s character, and his connection to Bruce.

-“Cold-Hearted: The Tale of Victor Fries” – a deeper look at how the good doctor devolved in pursuit of a cure for his wife.

The lore of Batman continues to grow, and FOX delivers a deeper exploration of our baddest villains.

Deadpool – The Romantic Merc With The Mouth

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deadpoolEver since the atrocity that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine, it has been Ryan Reynolds’ mission to give fans the perfect Deadpool movie. For years, FOX has put it on hold. Maybe they didn’t want to go the R rated movie route, or maybe they weren’t confident in the character. But one would think, with FOX’s track record of more duds than good X-Men films, that a change would be welcomed.

And then, the “leaked” test footage came out.

Suddenly, social media exploded and Deadpool fans went crazy over how great it was. Let us not be fooled, FOX gets about 10% credit for Deadpool coming to the big screen. The film, the character, the marketing was all Ryan Reynolds. This was either going to be a major fail on him, or it was going to be the role that defines him.

I am happy to say that it was the latter.

Deadpool is a hilariously funny movie that is filled with humor, heart and–since it’s rated R–vulgarity. The thing is, the film never went overboard on the vulgarity. There is definitely strong language and some graphic violence, all expected with a character like Deadpool, but the “so called” nudity is very little. Ryan Reynolds could have easily went overboard on the vulgarity, but he reeled it in.

Deadpool tells us the story of a man who is more of an anti-hero than anything else. He’s a mercenary, with a non-stop wise cracking mouth. He will help the little guy with all their needs, for a fee of course. At the same time, he also has a heart and a soft spot. When he meets someone who’s as crazy as he is, your love story begins…and then quickly ends. After being diagnosed with rapidly spreading terminal cancer, he can’t think of anything else but to leave his woman in order to spare her the pain of watching him die…but she refuses to allow it. When he’s given an opportunity for a cure (even though it meant becoming the one thing he never really wanted to be), he takes it, if only for the chance at love it offers. Of course, nothing that sounds that good ever actually is. All of a sudden, the wise-cracking man is left disfigured, but with a power that allows him to heal or regenerate (like Wolverine). Disgusted in himself, and thinking that his love would never accept him how he is, his mission becomes finding the person who did this to him and get a cure. Throughout the film, he leaves a trail of dead bodies while still being the wise cracking “merc with the mouth” that fans have come to know from the comics. He has a run in with two X-Men, and also enlists their help to save his girl. It is a high octane, comedy-filled film that is a love story at it’s heart, as only Deadpool can tell.

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Though, the big question is how can a R-rated Deadpool film have any redeeming qualities? I had that question going in, and as the movie went on I started to realize that you have to scale back and look at the story on a whole. Colossus was there as a moral voice in the film, but the film was more than just that. We have a love story in it’s true form. The film is a journey of how many view their lives when God calls them. They feel that they are too disfigured and too dirty and God would never accept them. The sickness of sin is so deep that they think they need to find a cure under their own will and power. Along the path, they constantly fail and take two steps back rather than a step forward. Meanwhile, that moral voice is there letting them know they can be more, if they just listen and ask for help. In the end, you come to a point where you have to come face to face with God and say sorry.

I’m sorry I walked away.

I’m sorry I stopped calling.

I thought I could fix me, and it turns out I can’t.

We don’t want Him to look at us, but God says “remove the mask, I accept you how you are because My love runs deeper”. Deadpool isn’t the ideal character where we would think we can find redeeming values, but then again, isn’t that how Jesus operated?

Deadpool does a great job in being a comic book film that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and rightfully so. Deadpool breaks the 4th wall, makes fun of X-Men films, Ryan Reynolds films, Wolverine and even Hugh Jackman. It’s what you expect Deadpool to do. The opening credits scene has you laughing from the get go and throughout the film there are several moments that make you want to fall out of your seat. Ryan Reynolds has found his role to the tone of Robert Downey Jr and Iron Man. TJ Miller was a great supporting actor in adding to the comedy. Stan Lee has his expected cameo and even Bob from Hydra (if you are a Deadpool fan you know who he is) makes an appearance.

The honest truth is, Deadpool is everything you will expect from a Deadpool film.

It’s up to you to figure out if that’s a good thing or bad thing.

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