The Wachowski’s have had a varied and checkered career, bursting onto the cinema landscape with the groundbreaking The Matrix and then nearly crashing and burning with two Matrix sequels and Speed Racer. The siblings redeemed themselves (or not) with the outstanding Cloud Atlas, and now they are back with another stunning piece of work, Jupiter Ascending.

The question is, are viewers going to be stunned in a good or bad way? The film is definitely taking its hits already from critics and advance screening audiences, but I’m not going to be quite as harsh on the film as many people are.

The story itself goes something like this: Chicago resident Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) finds herself in the middle of an intergalactic tug of war when the Abrasax siblings squabble over which of them has the rights to harvest the Earth (and by harvest, they mean humans not crops). It turns out, however, that Jupiter is somehow genetically related to the Abrasax family, a reincarnation of the siblings’ mother. This “recurrance” gives her the rights to Earth and each of the siblings woo her in such a way as to trick her out of her property, with Balem (Eddie Redmayne) going so far as marrying her … so he can kill her and inherit the planet. But why do these people actually need to harvest humans?

The plot sounds very straightforward, but the film is defiantly not so, throwing everything AND the kitchen sink into the works. Jupiter’s protector is a human/wolf “splice” named Caine Wise (Channing Tatum), who may be unwittingly helping the bad guys. The film is also filled to the brim with other spliced humanimals, from a rat man to an absurd elephant man creature. And there are the big talking lizards as well as the tiny grey aliens. It seems that they’ve spent so much time on making each creature different that the story got lost amidst all the spectacle.

While they get so much wrong in the storytelling, the Wachowskis can always be counted on to do something right and that is definitely in the spectacle, the minute details on all of the space vehicles and planets, the kingdom hidden behind the clouds of Jupiter, and all of the various makeups and costumes. A few of the CGI shots are not quite up to snuff, but 99% of what’s on screen is just mind-blowing.

As your senses are about to overload, you start thinking about the story again and realize you have no idea at all what is going on. Most of the scenes are filled with exposition, with characters trying mightily to tell us what’s happening but in most cases it’s all for naught. Jupiter is first taken to the Abrasax sister Kalique (Tuppence Middleton in some cringe-worthy middle-aged makeup) who shows her the wonders of a special mineral bath, then she’s whisked off to meet younger brother Titus (Douglas Booth), who explains more about his nefarious siblings (but he’s still not quite coming clean with her about why Earth is so important to them).

By the time she gets to Balem and discovers the truth, you’ve pretty much given up on really understanding anything, especially as Jupiter seems to switch from one emotion to another within the same scene. One minute she’s talking to Caine, the next minute she’s got dreamy eyes and wants to make out with him. Like, out of the blue. No lead up, no banter, no sexual tension. And ignoring the fact that he’s half dog. It was very odd. And speaking of odd, I don’t know whose idea it was for Freddie to whisper all of his lines, except for when he got VERY ANGRY, but it was a very weird, unintentionally hilarious character trait. Freddie is nominated for an Oscar this year as Best Actor (The Theory of Everything) and he could very well get a Razzie nomination next year for this.

Much has been said about Tatum’s performance, that he looks bored or just disinterested but I didn’t find him to be that way at all. I think he might have been thinking he had some ridiculous dialog to recite, but he carries himself well in the big action scenes. Kunis seems too restrained, like she really should be in another movie, and in fact that other movie is actually contained within Jupiter Ascending. The Wachowski’s are huge fans of Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, so much so that there is an entire, elaborate sequence that pays homage to the bureaucracy that Brazil pokes fun at. This one sequence is a comedy set-piece capped with a cameo by Gilliam himself, and it shows that the rest of the movie is taking itself way too seriously. Had the entire film been an absurd satire, I think Kunis and Tatum would have been able to loosen up more.

As it is, Jupiter Ascending is just a mish-mash of other, better (or just plain campy) sci-fi flicks like The Fifth Element, The Chronicles of Riddick and Flash Gordon, and it desperately needed more cohesion and more camp to make it something really special. We’re left wondering if the long release delay was truly to hone the effects, or if perhaps the studio imposed a lot of editing that left a potentially great movie on the cutting room floor.

Disney, musicals and fairy tales. A match as perfect as peanut butter and jelly or wine and cheese. Add some Stephen Sondheim into the mix, and you have a very curious combination. Of course the new Disney cinematic musical Into the Woods started out life on Broadway and as far from Disney as one could imagine … and seven years before Disney even hit Broadway with its own musical fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast.

Sondheim’s take on some well-known fairy tale characters, like Cinderella, Rapunzel and Jack (of beanstalk fame), was more Grimm than Disney. Not many people realize that the tales we all know and love today, courtesy of Disney, are much darker and violent, and they don’t always end happily ever after. In Sondheim’s musical fantasia, our beloved fairy tales are close to what we know but with a little bit of a twist: a wicked witch is brought into the mix to stir things up after placing a curse on the home of the Baker and his wife (James Corden and Emily Blunt). Because of the misdeeds of Baker’s father (he stole vegetables and magic beans from the Witch’s garden), the house would forever be childless.

It’s up to the Baker to bring the Witch four items: a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn, a cow as white as milk, and a slipper as pure as gold. You can pretty much figure out which characters the Baker and his wife will run into in the woods.

As we meet each character, their stories are certainly familiar enough and the film seems to reach its climax with the “happily ever after” wedding of Cinderella (Anna Kendrick) and Prince Charming (Chris Pine). But young Jack’s misdeeds at the top of the beanstalk have brought giants to the land below, turning the happy day into tragedy as the land is destroyed, people are homeless and hopeless, and only the resilient spirit of the Baker seems to make the others want to make peace with the giants by returning the stolen items. But the giants want more than their golden egg and magic harp back … they want Jack.

With the arrival of the giants, the film’s bright, colorful palette turns dark and muted, as if dark clouds have come to cover the land. The characters become more human as well, and sadly, death will take some of them. It’s here that you have to wonder what the folks at Disney were thinking. Is it such a good idea for them to produce a film that treats many of its most beloved characters so badly? Parents should be warned that Into the Woods is not a children’s movie.

That being said, it’s nice that Disney has produced a fairy tale movie aimed at adults, and cast it with a who’s who of amazing stars. Blunt has already been nominated for a Golden Globe as Lead Actress in a Musical or Comedy and she is quite good. James Corden’s Baker my be the film’s true lead (and he acquits himself well, particularly with some of Sondheim’s more complicated lyrics), but Blunt’s Baker’s Wife is the film’s true heart and soul. She brings so much warmth and patience to her character that you can’t help but to fall in love with her. And Blunt also has a lovely singing voice, bringing tears to the eyes as she closes out the film with “Children Will Listen.”

Anna Kendrick can sing, for sure, but I really didn’t feel much for her Cinderella until she had a heartfelt moment later in the film at the ruined grave of her mother. She was much too flighty, but I did enjoy Christine Baranski as her Wicked Stepmother and Tammy Blanchard and Lucy Punch in the more broadly drawn roles of the stepsisters. Daniel Huttleston (Jack) and Lilla Crawford (Little Red Riding Hood) are major finds, giving great performances and tackling those lyrics with true professionalism. Pine and Billy Magnussen (Rapunzel’s Prince) deliver the film’s showstopping moment as they sing and try to outdo each other’s proclamations of love with the song “Agony.” The audience loved both actors’ hamminess, showing us what total douchebags these two princes really are. Mackenzie Mauzy is, unfortunately, locked away a bit too much in Rapunzel’s tower, and Johnny Depp shows up briefly as the Big Bad Wolf to leer lasciviously at Red Riding Hood. The role can come off as a bit creepy as he sings about the lusciousness of the young girl, but it’s all in quest of a meal and nothing else.

Of course, the biggest star of the movie is Meryl Streep (Golden Globe nominee for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture) and she can really belt out those songs. She also seems to be having great fun playing the haggard, old witch (breaking her own rule of never playing a witch after she was offered three witch roles when she turned 40) and then gets to glam it up as the curse on her is lifted. Whenever she’s on screen, you just can’t take your eyes off of her.

The film, which was shot on location in England, sometimes feels and looks a bit too stage-bound instead of opened up for the screen, but it also adds more intimacy to the story than you can get watching actors on a stage. I suspect the minuscule budget Disney gave Oscar nominated director Rob Marshall played a big part in the almost claustrophobic feel of the woods (there are very few interior sets). Colleen Atwood’s costumes are also pretty amazing, appropriately regal and tattered, befitting the station of the character wearing them.

Is Into the Woods a perfect movie musical? That all depends on your taste in musicals. I’ve seen the stage version and I enjoyed the film much more. I think it was the music and the singing which drew me into the world more than it did with either stage production. I don’t think it rivals Marshall’s own Oscar-winning Chicago, but I enjoyed the movie very much. The only real negative impact the film may face is the downer of an ending. If you know going in that it’s not going to end happily ever after for some, you may not come out of it feeling so negatively about the rest of the movie. You have been warned.

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Who would have thought a drama about a biker gang would last seven years? Who would have thought a drama about a biker gang would be riveting, well-written television … for five of those years. Yes Sons of Anarchy has grown a bit long in the tooth and finally taken out to pasture, and while it was a wild ride it petered out in the end. Without a clear adversary like Clay Morrow, the show has felt unfocused for the last two years. Where the first five seasons felt like they had a clear direction, Jax struggling with his outlaw ways and the wishes of his dead father to legitimize their club, these last two seemed to forget that and dive headfirst into the seedy criminal world of Samcro. The series finale tries to rectify this somewhat, returning to a Jax who knows that he and his brothers in arms are bad men that do bad things. If it did nothing else, this change redeems the mess the series had become. We get to see our anti-hero reconcile what he is and what he’s done and finally take responsibility for his sins… on his own terms of course.

Kurt Sutter has been more and more self-indulgent with the show; he could easily be called the Peter Jackson of television. Where the first seasons were packed to the brim with character development and action, we now spend most episodes — including this finale — with three-minute bro hug-offs and discussions of finances. Not what we expect from a show that started with gang wars and burning tattoos off of mens back with a blowtorch.

There is a good finale buried in this mess though, one that is an hour, maybe an hour and twenty minutes long.. Once Jax gets his house in order we get to see him clean up the neighborhood one last time. One more trip with mister mayhem and while not the most violent or bloody battle the show has had Jax seems like the focused man with purpose he started the show as. We get another visit from the strange homeless girl who always seems to pop up before pivotal events on the show. While her appearance had never been explained before, there are allusions to her being some sort of angel. Whether a guardian or an angel of death is left up to us, she is definitely an otherworldly guide of some type for Jax. While this character’s mysterious appearances and motives are effective for the most part they also come off a bit pretentious. The leader of a vicious biker gang has a supernatural entity watching over him … when you read it out loud it’s almost laughable. To their credit they kept it vague and grounded enough that people could interpret her comings and goings in a number of ways.

After all of his battles, losses, trials and tribulations, Jax’s fate is pretty much inevitable at this point. He rides off into the sunset but also go out in a blaze of glory: Jax visits the site of his father’s fatal crash. The crash that has been called an outright accident, blamed on his mother and Clay as murder, and suggested as a possible suicide. How fitting that Jax speaks one more time to his father, the man whose writings and teachings gave him such turmoil in his soul. Also fitting that from here he launches, after firing at a cop, his last ride. On his fathers bike Jax takes off down the highway and eventually is chased by what looks to be easily a hundred officers. The show has one of its greatest shots here as the camera flies above the action swerving from left to right just over the police cruisers. It is the kind of staging you’d expect from Breaking Bad or True Detective. Jax sees an eighteen wheeler coming in the other direction and has a beautiful moment of clarity. Just like his father, on the same bike Jax goes out riding free.

Most longtime fans have always assumed there would be no happy ending for Jax Teller and while they were right. Jax was able to fulfill his father’s wishes and get his club out of guns and get his children away from the club. While the show may have lost that objective for the last two years it was a fitting, perfect way to cap off the show. Sons of Anarchy may not go down as one of the greatest shows of all time, but it sure was one hell of a ride.

Historical biopics are tricky, as I’ve mentioned several times before. I don’t much care for ones that screw it up, and I care even less for ones wholly meant for getting some awards. And perhaps, just perhaps, I’m a bit sick of Benedict Cumberbatch everywhere. The man is a good actor, but I did not like his performance in Star Trek Into Darkness or August Osage County, plus he was unrecognizable CGI in The Hobbit movies. Now he’ll be starring in a new Marvel movie as comic book magician Dr. Strange? He’s getting on my nerves a bit. But on the other hand, that doesn’t mean I should necessarily judge the movie he’s in based on his Jude Law penchant for being in movies.  No, no, it’s just better to judge the movie instead.

The Imitation Game tells some of the story of famed World War II technological innovator Alan Turing’s life, based on the book Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges. Alan Turing, played by the omnipresent Benedict Cumberbatch, is essentially responsible for pioneering advances that led to the first digital computer. The movie utilizes a limp wristed and ill-advised wraparound device, starting in 1952 with Turing’s home mysteriously robbed but seemingly with nothing of value lost. By virtue of a sort of flashback induced by a police inspector interrogating Turing, the rest of the movie is shown. Now, if you ask me, this device did not work. It made no sense, and served no real purpose, because it tried to create a mystery of “why did he get robbed,” but the question is not answered. Instead, we get barely anything on what really happened; but I’ll get back to that in a minute.

During World War II, England is in bad shape. We see several scenes of bombings and crowds huddled in shelters, which does add an interesting level of pathos to the movie. Does it make sense with that narrative device I mentioned? No! Not in the slightest. But I’m harping on that. So the movie jumps back and forth between little scenes of the future investigator trying to discover the truth, a few bits of Alan’s past in boarding school, and the actual content and story of the movie. Alan Turing joins an elite group of men working to break Nazi codes, specifically the Enigma code machine. The military commander Denniston (a superb Charles Dance) does not care for Turing’s awkwardness or odd way of doing things, but his hands get tied when Turing goes over his head. So Alan works, or tries to work, with his group of fellow codebreakers. But he doesn’t get along well with people.

Eventually, he is permitted to hire someone new who might be smart enough to assist, and he hires Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley), although in real life several women worked on the Enigma breaking project. In any event, Turing and Joan have a connection of sorts, their intellects, although Turing stumbles and stutters his way through most human interactions. It all leads up to whether or not they actually break the Enigma and help win WWII. SPOILERS! They do. There are others on his team, but they aren’t that interesting. But unfortunately, despite Alan helping to save the world, he is arrested in 1951 on charges of “indecency,” which means he admitted to having a homosexual relationship. The movie barely touches on this terrible tragedy, and basically only hints on how Turing committed suicide after having been chemically castrated. In fact, only in 2013 did the British government finally grant an official pardon. That’s ridiculous.

Now, it is true that there are some excellent performances in this movie. Charles Dance, as I mentioned is great and amusing as the intimidating military officer. And sure, Keira Knightley is lovely here too, even if her part is underwritten, like everything is in the movie. The various other whos and whats in the movie are forgettable and not really important for anything the movie cares about. Cumberbatch does a pretty good job as a man with a high intellect but other problems, although he plays it like a man on the autistic spectrum, which is … debatable about the real Turing. The movie is mostly paced pretty well, but there are very slow parts. There are some really great scenes, building up the tension and despair as they fail and fail again to crack the codes. Although the actual way they figure it out seems … well I won’t give that part away.

In this time of the year, with all the fancy schmancy prestige flicks coming out, The Imitation Game is nothing close to the best of the bunch. Alan Turing may be an important historical figure who deserves to be remembered, but I don’t think this is the movie that will accomplish that.

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Ah, the indie “antihero” movie. This is the film with a character who’s not likable, but is probably charismatic in some way, or at least they ought to be. Or at least the director hopes they come across that way. Otherwise, why bother watching an awful person for two hours? You can flip on Captain America instead and watch just a regular old charismatic hero! But the antihero presents a different way to tell a story, one with different stories and themes than you can with a normal heroic protagonist. Instead of rooting for victory, you root for comeuppance. It’s still fun, but a very different sort of experience entirely.

Listen Up Philip comes from writer/director Alex Ross Perry and if you’re thinking this is a classic indie movie about tortured white men geniuses, I’d have to ask if you were reading ahead in the review! Jason Schwartzman stars as the eponymous Philip Friedman, a young author with a fairly successful first novel. As his second novel is being published, Philip begins to grow weary of many things. His relationship with his girlfriend, the successful photographer Ashley, has always been toxic and is only getting worse. Philip hates the idea of promoting his book, much to his publisher’s chagrin, and not only that, but our “hero” can’t deal with the noise and liveliness of New York City. He wants solitude, but he can’t afford it. But he stumbles into some absurd luck: his idol, famed author Ike Zimmerman (Jonathan Pryce) likes his book and wants to meet! Not only that, but Ike offers Philip the chance to stay at his summer estate in the country.

It’s perfect — finally Philip can spend some time alone with his favorite person: himself. He and Ike are like parallel jerks, Ike as the older successful author with a poor relationship with his daughter Melanie (Krysten Ritter), and Philip as the younger not as successful author who similarly doesn’t care for most people.  After that it’s back and forth, seeing Philip’s continued static push forward while staying immature and not really learning anything, but then it’s back sometimes to see how Ashley might be doing a lot better without her terrible boyfriend. So in the end we are left to wonder: Did I just watch a movie about the most arrogant and pretentious guy in NYC meeting his older self? I would say the answer is “sort of”.

The movie is mixed quality to me. There are these amusing narrative asides, but there aren’t enough of them. Stylistically, it gets a bit muddled and I would’ve liked to see some consistency. This is one of those indie “quasi-comedies,” where there are some legitimately funny moments but it’s mostly about the characters and the style. Oh, and the themes. This is all about those that aspire versus what they can actually accomplish, and how even jerks aren’t immune from failing, despite what it might seem like. Sometimes initial success doesn’t imply future victories, it just makes you always resentful of never getting back that glory.

Now I liked Jason Schwartzman in this and I found many of his horrible insults to be amusing in that schadenfreude way, but I don’t think he’s as charming (as a character) as the movie wants him to be. Jonathan Pryce though is effortlessly watchable, with a look of civility hiding smugness and delicious condescension. His great performance elevated the movie. Elisabeth Moss is a talented actress, that is true, but I felt like she wasn’t given much to do here. When she has something, she’s great. And Krysten Ritter shows up her post-Breaking Bad and Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23 acting chops without being as good as she was in either of those wildly different TV shows. So acting is certainly a draw here, even if the tertiary characters are quite forgettable.

Did the movie drag a bit at times? Sure! But as the movie isn’t even two hours long, it’s paced pretty well. There aren’t really “events” here, just little stories and throughlines. In general, these sorts of indie movies are tricky to recommend, because most people don’t want to see a misanthropic protagonist. But if that’s something that piques your interest, and you’re in the mood for a sort of comedy of awful people dealing with decent ones, you might indeed like this movie.

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Ah, The Expendables. The trilogy began with a conceit that was very simple: a collection of aging action stars (heroes and villains) all in a single movie with every single cliche and one liner you’d expect. There were plenty of explosions, a lot of CGI blood, grunting galore, a few superfluous subplots, useless tertiary characters, and even some legitimately good action. In a standout then, Jason Statham showcased plenty of wit and talent and Terry Crews was a revelation, but not everyone was that great.

Still, it was decent, stupid fun, right? Expendables 2 jammed in a few more characters and had some okay action scenes, including Jean Claude Van Damme chewing the scenery as a villain. Once again though, Stallone merely grunted and shot his way through the movie as the least interesting lead. I should also say that Randy Couture was boring as well, because he’s a former MMA fighter who didn’t even fight with his fists in the sequel, unlike the first movie. So the second movie was a bit of disappointment. And then problems began to arise with the third one, mainly that Bruce Willis left production because he wasn’t being paid enough (allegedly). But instead we got some new characters instead. Does it work?

The Expendables 3 has a paper thin plot, as per usual, but there are some hidden secrets here. Stallone is back as gruff Barney Ross, leader of the now mostly dead group of the Expendables, including Randy Couture (boring guy from the last paragraph), Dolph Lundgren (underused in the movie), Terry Crews (sidelined from most of the movie due to conflicts with shooting the hilarious Brooklyn Nine Nine) and Jason Statham (also underused, but not that badly). The movie begins with the team breaking Doc, a new character played by Wesley Snipes, out of a black ops, vaguely Eastern European prison train. Explosions, non-bloody deaths by the score, one liners, and scene!

Snipes is actually a lot of fun for this first part of the movie, but unfortunately he is quickly turned into background noise after the next segment. Barney and company have another job when they run into Stonebanks (Mel Gibson), a former Expendable turned bad guy believed dead, and things get screwed up. So Barney decides to get a new team, discarding the old one. He pulls in a new team who are all boring characters and nobodies, with the help of wrangler Bonaparte (Kelsey Grammer). You have the punk who doesn’t respect authority but has what it takes ironically to be a leader (Kellan Lutz, boring), weapons expert-slash-boring guy (boxer Victor Ortiz, boring as well), hacker-slash-adrenaline junkie (Glen Powell, mostly boring), and the kickass lady (MMA champion Ronda Rousey, who is not such a great actress).

Things continue to get worse, Harrison Ford has a cameo, they make many meta-commentary jokes about Bruce Willis being fired and Wesley Snipes’ tax troubles, etc. But then there is a brilliant bright spot, Antonio Banderas as Galgo, a crazed killer who is also hilariously annoying. This guy was legitimately the best part of the film, although I have to say that Mel Gibson still does crazy well. The final big set piece was fine, but once you see a lot of shooting random minions the first hour, the second hour seems the same. The problem with The Expendables 3 is that it isn’t quite stupid enough, but on the other hand, you do wonder if Stallone is trying to say something about older stars being replaced by generic, younger, boring ones. Or maybe not, it could be just skin deep. Once again, this movie had too much shooting, not enough punching. That said, we do see one scene of Statham showing he can still kick some ass, and Rousey had a few decent action bits. Kelsey Grammer was pretty funny in his short time, despite not shooting anybody, and Harrison Ford seemed to be almost trying.

These movies are kind of an oddity, because it’s hard to be critical of things that are clearly not trying that hard, so that becomes the best thing you can even say. The movie is decently paced, despite its length, and it does have some fun scenes and a pretty good bad guy. In the end it just once again becomes a matter of “this could’ve been even better,” but that’s basically every movie. I suppose here it’s even more true, because everyone here (except the boring youngsters and Couture) has been in a great action movie in their career. See the movie for Banderas, Gibson, and some fun action scenes. Skip it if you’re already bored with The Expendables after the first one.

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CliqueClack has partnered with Twentieth Century Fox to offer readers in Baltimore, DC and Virginia Beach an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new comedy Let’s Be Cops starring Damon Wayans Jr., Jake Johnson, Rob Riggle, Nina Dobrev, James D’Arcy and Andy Garcia.

It’s the ultimate buddy cop movie except for one thing: they’re not cops. When two struggling pals dress as police officers for a costume party, they become neighborhood sensations. But when these newly-minted “heroes” get tangled in a real life web of mobsters and dirty detectives, they must put their fake badges on the line.

The screenings will take place Monday, August 11, 7:00 PM at the following locations:

• AMC Georgetown, Washington, DC
• AMC White Marsh, Baltimore, MD
• AMC Lynnhaven, Virginia Beach, VA

A limited number of passes will be awarded for each location on a first come, first served basis. To be eligible, please read and follow the directions.

• Comment on this post ONLY with your location of choice: DC, WHITE MARSH, VIRGINIA BEACH. You must use ONLY one of these options. Any additional commentary WILL result in your entry being disqualified. We will be looking specifically for the options given.
• Include your FULL NAME (First and Last) and email address on the entry form (NOT in the comment box!). Double check your email address before submitting. If your email address is misspelled, you will not receive passes should your entry be selected.
• ONE entry per person/per email address will be accepted. CliqueClack has the right to discard any duplicates or comments that appear to be duplicates. Multiple comments from a single person will result in complete disqualification. As this is not a random drawing, only one person per couple needs to comment. Keep these offers fair for everyone!
• If you have no intention of downloading or using the passes you are awarded, please don’t bother leaving a comment. If the studios see that passes we are given to award to our readers are not being used, they will not want to offer us passes for future screenings. Please be considerate!

Please note that passes do not guarantee seats at the screening. Seating is first come, first served so plan to arrive early. CliqueClack has no control over the total number of passes distributed, and is not responsible for seating arrangements at the theater. The film is rated R. No one under 17 will be admitted without parent or guardian.

Have a look at the trailer below and then let us know where you want to see the film. Let’s Be Cops opens in theaters August 13.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj5ECoN-Nl4

First published in 1991, Diana Gabaldon’s series of Outlander books are, to the excitement of fans everywhere, finally being adapted for television. The show, premiering August 9th (though the premiere is available to watch online now at Starz.com) stars Sam Heughan as Jaime Frasier, Caitriona Balfe as Claire Randall (nee Beauchamp), Tobias Menzies as both Frank and Jonathan Randall, Graham McTavish as Dougal MacKenzie, Lotte Verbeek as Gellis Duncan and is executive produced by Ron Moore. We sat down with them during this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, and learned about the show’s first season.

The books have a lot of fans, so there’s a corresponding amount of pressure

Fans have been waiting for twenty-three years to see these characters brought to life. “I think there is definitely pressure to get this right. But we’ve been very lucky that we’ve been supported by Diana from pretty much the beginning … so you’ve got this wealth of knowledge to draw upon” says Heughan, who plays Jaime. “ What we have to focus on is our character, and being true to that” adds his co-star Balfe.

Scotland is almost a character in and of itself

There is no place else on the planet that they could have filmed this show. The settings are absolutely stunning. McTavish – a native Scot – is appreciative of the cinematography and care with which the filming is done. The first episode opens with a long shot that, if it does nothing else, hits viewers over the head with the idea that Scotland is an incredibly beautiful place. “We would spend all day setting up shots, because they were so particular how it was lit and how the set was decorated; it was amazing to be there” says McTavish.

The cast is proud of the show and were almost nervous about sharing it with audiences

Filming on location in Scotland, the cast has been isolated from the public as the premiere has grown closer. Between the TCA Summer Press Tour and San Diego Comic-Con, they’ve only recently “peeked over the parapet” to see how the show’s buzz has developed. Heughan: “There’s an element of sadness, yesterday [at the premiere screening] releasing this … we’ve been working on this for a year, giving our heart and soul into it, and suddenly we have to give this over to people.” You can tell they are nervous, but having seen the first episode, they have no reason to be.

The show will follow the books fairly closely

“The first two episodes set up the story, much like in the book, but then the journey begins. Each episode has its own feel to it, like a chapter almost, and it really turns it on its head.” Heughan also hinted that Ron Moore will play around with perspective to tell the story (The series used a growing number of POVs as each book was released, though Claire is the only true first person perspective).

This means they are not skipping any of the darker material

The cast teased that this season’s story includes some pretty dark moments. “It’s a major thing that happens to [Jaime], and it will probably test his character … he questions everything. He questions who he is and what he’s always believed about himself,” says Heughan. They’ve not yet filmed the scenes in question, but it sounds like the show isn’t shying away from the darkness; a good thing, as subsequent books are full of them as well.

It was important, however, to focus more on Frank Randall in the first episode

There is more Frank in the series than in the book, helping to fill out the relationship between he and Claire. They wanted to develop Frank and Claire as a relationship that has real depth. At some point Claire has to make a choice, and the show wants audiences to be more torn than perhaps they were when reading the book.

Menzies did a good deal of research into the two different time periods in an attempt to draw the differences between the two characters (Frank and Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall). Ron Moore shared an important note with the actor, that “both Frank and Jack are two men shaped arguably by their experiences at war … with very different results. Frank, by the love of a good woman, has survived … whereas Jack has gone to a very dark place.”

Filming a period piece provided for some fun with horses and costumes

“[Horseback riding is] actually one of my favorite parts … it just feels great. It’s the stuff that you dream of when you’re a kid,” says Balfe. She and Heughan apparently have developed a competition on who can get the horses to like them best. “It’s not a competition; it’s my horse and she keeps feeding him sugary treats!” protested Heughan. (I commented to them both at this point in the interview how their dynamic even at the table proves just how good their chemistry will be on screen.)

Becoming accustomed to wearing kilts regularly has provided some fun moments. Balfe says that “she gets flashed quite a lot,” a problem that the cast and crew have just gotten used to throughout the production. Once the actors have grown accustomed to the … erm … freedom, it is tough to go back: “It is actually very comfortable riding a horse in a kilt. I recommend it,” says Heughan.

Why Ron Moore wanted to bring this story to life

The character of Claire is one of the main reasons Moore was interested in doing Outlander as a series, “I thought she was smart, strong and interesting. I liked her voice all the way through the book.” As a history buff, he also thought doing a piece on the specific historical period would also provide for compelling storytelling. In the books, “the period was realized with a great deal of detail and authenticity, and the plot itself had a lot of twists and turns and reversals of fortune that I didn’t see coming” that would be great for television.

There are plans for future books, and the challenges those stories might bring

If the show lasts a couple of seasons, they have a plan on how to handle changing times, ages and locations. Most importantly, there is no plan to recast any of the actors (though sadly, wee Rodger did not show up in the premiere). But the changes mean good things are coming. “There’s a lot of interesting casting still coming up, because there’s so many characters we haven’t gotten to in book one,” says Moore.

But the actors know what the following books bring for their characters?

Most haven’t read past the first book. Menzies has started in on the second, Balfe is looking forward to finishing filming this year so she can start on the second (she flew through the first book in a weekend), Heughan is nearing the end of book two. “I’ve read the first one. I didn’t want to get ahead of myself … but people keep telling me things that happen,” kids McTavish. Considering how much we learn about the backstories of certain characters in later books, series author Diana Gabaldon played an important role in helping fill out the characters for the actors.

The show has a great title sequence

Moore is proud of the main title sequence. “Bear [McCreary] did a great job scoring it, Raya [Yarbrough] sings … we shot some stuff that was specific for the title and other pieces were outtakes or unused angles from other episodes. It was a process; it took a few weeks to pull it all together.” While many shows are eschewing these sequences – often for time – there has been a small resurgence with shows – TURN for example – and Outlander continues in that trend. “It takes you to this place and to this world in a very nice way, and keeps the two periods alive and reminds you of the time travel aspect with it becoming all about that.”

Menzies has recently joined the cast of two fan-favorite adaptations

Menzies has played roles in both Outlander and Game of Thrones this year. He complimented David Benioff and Dan Weiss on the sophistication with which the Thrones adaptation has been brought to the screen. But getting on the “ground level,” as with Outlander, is fun as he’s had the ability to weigh in on a variety of decisions, including apparently his costume.

Adapting a story is a different process than writing something new

Outlander differs from Moore’s previous work on Battlestar Galactica in that there’s a very specific roadmap fans will expect the show to follow. On BSG Moore was unafraid to let the story develop organically and take turns not necessarily envisioned in the breaking process. “It’s very different; it’s been an interesting exercise just in terms of that, in writing and structuring a show in the writer’s room because normally on an original piece you are sitting there tossing out ideas all the time … you don’t do that here; we try to stay in the lane. We start with the order that’s laid out for us in the book … It’s a different task intellectually.” Diana Gabaldon has been a tremendous help, making sure that fan favorite lines didn’t end up on the cutting room floor.

Gellis and Dougal are characters that should be interesting to watch

Gellis Duncan is not at all what she seems, but Verbeek promises that we’ll learn more and more about her over the course of the first season, “We see everything from Claire’s perspective, so everything we see of Gellis is what she actually gets to know about her.”

With Gellis, there’s a lot of game playing; she shows different faces to different people. She always seems to know a bit more than everyone around her. “When push comes to shove, she actually shows her true colors, which I thought was great to get to play all of that” says Verbeek. McTavish thinks Dougal is a complicated character, “He does bad things … I guess you could describe them as bad possibly … but he does good things. His relationship with Jaime is evidence of that complication.” Both have very specific motivations and goals that are not immediately evident at the beginning of the story.

Fans of the Loch Ness Monster will not be happy

There was a lot of discussion about the decision to leave out a scene from the book where Claire encounters the famed Loch Ness Monster. Moore says that while it was a great passage in the book, translating that scene to the screen might have felt out of sync with the rest of the show …  but Menzies teased that he remembered that sequence in a script at some point during production.

Moore plans on recording podcasts for Outlander

It was a fan at the autograph signing at San Diego Comic-Con who reminded Moore of the podcasts that he did for Battlestar Galatica. The recordings, which served basically as commentaries that could be played in sync with each episode, were a great window into the production of the show. Thus, everyone needs to send a thank you note to the fan that brought a nice bottle of Scotch (Moore’s refreshment of choice during recordings) to the signing.

This contest is closed. Winners will be notified by email. Follow CliqueClack on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Tumblr for contest alerts, reviews and breaking news.

CliqueClack has partnered with Twentieth Century Fox to offer readers in the Chicago, Indianapolis and Milwaukee areas an opportunity to attend an advance screening of the new comedy Let’s Be Cops starring Damon Wayans Jr., Jake Johnson, Rob Riggle, Nina Dobrev, James D’Arcy and Andy Garcia.

It’s the ultimate buddy cop movie except for one thing: they’re not cops. When two struggling pals dress as police officers for a costume party, they become neighborhood sensations. But when these newly-minted “heroes” get tangled in a real life web of mobsters and dirty detectives, they must put their fake badges on the line.

The screenings will take place at the following locations and dates:

• Monday, August 11, 7pm, Kerasotes Showplace ICON, Chicago
• Tuesday, August 12, 7pm, AMC Castleton Square, Indianapolis
• Tuesday, August 12, 7pm, AMC Mayfair Mall, Milwaukee

A limited number of passes are available for each location. Passes will be awarded through a random drawing. To be eligible, please read and follow the directions.

• Comment on this post only with your location of choice: CHICAGO, INDIANAPOLIS or MILWAUKEE. You must use one of these three options. Any additional commentary could result in your entry being disqualified. We will be looking specifically for the options given.
• Include your FULL NAME (First and Last) and email address on the entry form (NOT in the comment box!). Double check your email address before submitting. If your email address is misspelled, you will not receive passes should your entry be selected.
• ONE entry per person/per email address will be accepted. CliqueClack has the right to discard any duplicates or comments that appear to be duplicates. Multiple comments from a single person will result in complete disqualification. Keep these offers fair for everyone!

Entry period will run from Monday, July 21 to 11:59 PM, Friday, August 8. Winners will be notified by email Saturday, August 9. Please note that passes do not guarantee seats at the screening. Seating is first come, first served so plan to arrive early. CliqueClack has no control over the total number of passes distributed, and is not responsible for seating arrangements at the theater. The film is rated R. No one under 17 will be admitted without parent or guardian.

Have a look at the trailer below and then let us know where you want to see the film. Let’s Be Cops opens in theaters August 13.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj5ECoN-Nl4

I’m a fan of Green Lantern: The Animated Series. I said as much when I wrote about the Cartoon Network series several times here on CliqueClack during it’s painfully short run (two big space epic storylines in just 26 episodes). And it took over a year since it was canceled, but the complete series Blu-ray finally came out this past spring. I had been slowly rewatching the series through the Blu-ray and with the Independence Day weekend, I sat down watched through to the end. Turns out that I’m still very much a fan of this show.

The main cast’s whole dynamic is great, but the shining stars of the story are the two new characters of Aya and Razer. Both have character growth that develops slowly; you really see it when you watch the episodes one after the other. While the Star Sapphires frustrate me to no end (mostly for the same reasons their whole origin frustrates me), Carol Ferris herself is very well-written. Also it’s so rare for Carol’s Star Sapphire costume to not look male-gazey and I appreciate that her costume in GL:TAS doesn’t make me cringe.

Watching through it again reminded me of how much potential and set-up they had for another season, from Sinestro’s introduction to the mention of John Stewart to that very last heartbreaking shot of the finale. Green Lantern: The Animated Series is a prime example of a show that got some great storytelling done but had so much more to do. Even if you watched the series when it aired, I highly recommend giving the whole series a watch through — the Blu-ray is as good a way to do it as any.

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