On this day: Lady Jane, Devil Dolls, Bergman Wedding, Phase Three

Helena Bonham Carter & Cary Elwes star in Lady Jane (1986)On this day in history as it relates to the movies

1553 Lady Jane Grey takes the throne in England. Her reign is just nine days long and Helena Bonham Carter plays her in her feature film debut (filmed just before A Room With a View though it was released second)
1856 Nikola Tesla, famed inventor and futurist is born in the Austrian empire. He's later played by David Bowie in Christopher Nolan's The Prestige (2006) but isn't it strange that he has never received his own major biopic given his fame and eccentricity and pop culture relevances (bands named after him, characters based on him, etcetera)?
1871 Marcel Proust, French novelist is born.

 1925 The "Monkey Trial" in which a man is accused of teaching evolution in science class, begins in Tennessee. It's later adapted into a famous play and the Stanley Kramer film Inherit the Wind (1960) nominated for four Oscars
1936 The Devil-Doll, a horror flick directed by Dracula's Tod Browning opens in US movie theaters starring Lionel Barrymore, who masquerades as an old womenfor nefarious purposes (!), and Maureen O'Sullivan.

1937 Ingrid Bergman gets married for the first time at the age of 21 in Sweden to Petter Aron Lindström. They are married until 1950 when she divorces him to marry Italian director Roberto Rossellini (Stromboli, Journey to Italy) temporarily making Bergman persona non grata in Hollywood for her scandalous adultery
1946 Sue Lyon, Kubrick's Lolita (1962) is born. She won the now defunct award "Most Promising Performer" from the Golden Globes that year but her career was rather shortlived
1958 Fiona Shaw, British great of stage and screen, is born
1959 Ellen Kuras, great cinematographer (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Summer of Sam) is born
1966 AO Scott, Film Critic for the New York Times is born. He recently released the book "Better Living Through Criticism". Happy 50th, A.O.
1977 Chiwetel Ejiofor, Oscar nominated star of 12 Years a Slave, is born 
1983 Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani (star of About Elly and The Patience Stone) is born. Charlie McDowell is born to actors Malcolm McDowell and Mary Steenburgen on this day as well.  He has recently become a director with the Twilight Zone like romantic dramedy The One I Love and next year's scifi romance The Discovery starring his girlfriend Rooney Mara as well as Riley Keough and Jason Segel 

1992 Roland Emmerich's Universal Soldier battles it out with the live action animated hybrid Cool World and the romantic dramedy Prelude to a Kiss on their opening day in US movie theaters (none of them are unable to unseat A League of Their Own, which stays at #1 in its second week.)
2020 Marvel Studios has already blocked out the date - supposedly for the penultimate film in their "Phase 3" plan though we don't yet know what that is.

True Blood Finale (Plus: Season 4 Awards!)

The final episode of True Blood's witchy season four had a cleft heart, one half beating only for past glories (i.e. Season 4 ... or even earlier seasons if their name is "Bill") and the other half beating for an imagined future (Season 5 if you'd like to get cynical about it). You could just about divide the sprawling cast down the center as to which half they belonged to, some characters hanging on to the past either tearfully, fearfully or violently (Marnie, Eric, Bill, Debbie, Hoyt, Arlene, Pam), others ready to forge ahead and move on with varying degrees of optimism, fear, and willpower (Sookie, Jessica, Jason, Tara, Sam, Holly & Andy). It's the very drama that infuses the episode's opening conversation with Jesus & Lafayette. Isn't that always the drama of the heart? 

Jesus and Lafayette (who is actually Marnie!) over breakfast eggs.

4.12 "And When I Die"
Not that True Blood thrives on "the universal". Most of us don't have to worry about malevolent spirits possessing our lovers, stabbing our hands over breakfast, duct-taping us to our chairs, and stealing our demon-headed magic while thrusting a butcher knife into our heart. But maybe Jesus, familiar with both violence-prone spirits and demon-headed Crazy, should've worried himself towards protection spells or some such! Goodbye Jesus (2010-2011) we hardly knew you. Goodbye Kevin Alejandro, go-to guy for "regular cast" killings (see also: Southland).

True Blood's season finale had a cleft heart but its body was divvied up into smaller pieces, drawn and quartered one might say.

If that sounds torturous, it definitely was... at least for the characters. And maybe some audiences members who wanted a more cohesive finale. More after the jump, plus best & worst of the season.

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True Blood 4.10 "Burning Down The House"

when you came in the air went out and every shadow filled up with doubt ♫  I think I'll miss the theme song most of all when True Blood goes bye-bye in a couple of weeks. We're nearly at the end of Season 4. You can tell because things get crazy crazier craziest craziestest (where we are now) before the wrap. Finales have a way of bringing most of the characters back together where they should be. Quoth Tara when Sookie, Jason, Lafayette and Jesus arrive at the Moon Goddess Emporium where ⅘ of the cast is by the time the credits roll...

Reinforcements!"

They've arrived to save Tara and assorted humans from being blown to smithereens when the vamps arrive to take out Marnie once and for all. But I've jumped ahead since we're doing this wrap up quickest-like.

"Burning Down The House"
The episode begins with an assassination attempt at the Dorchester, as possessed Eric and King Bill fight it out until Sookie finally intervenes with her fairy powers, saving Bill from death and accidentally curing Eric's amnesia. Nan confronts Bill about it later with the very sensible question:

What's the deal with your little dairymaid and her lightning trick?

Since Bill doesn't answer her, I will.

You see Nan it's like this. Sookie's powers are now True Blood shorthand for "We've written ourselves into a corner and plus we can't kill off the main characters so here is a blast of fairy dust power which Sookie doesn't understand and which we don't either but it sure helps us to advance the plotline!"  Done!

With Marnie/Antonia's assassination of Bill foiled, Nan and Bill go to war over what to do next "Bill. Image!" Nan reminds him and the glamouring of the town begins so that they'll forget all the bloodshed; what happens at the Dorchester stays at the Dorchester!

FORGETTING. We soon realize that dead necromancer Antonia who was possessing Marnie doesn't want to remember the bloodshed either. ZOMG, it's Marnie who is now running the show!!! Jason, as it turns out, would also like to forget the previous episodes fucking/fighting mess . Jessica doesn't appreciate his request to be glamoured, continuing her delicious character arc in Season 4 to embrace her inner vampire. "Fucking humans. I'm going to go find somebody to eat."

Feel Her Vibrations!

In other important developments: Sookie still loves Billzzzzz and Eric isn't happy aboutzzzzz; Terry stages an intervention to help Andy with his V addiction; Holly the witch (Lauren Bowles) continues to be a great addition to the cast and convinces Tara to trust her own fury - "There aint no spell that can't be undone if you got the juice" -- and lord knows Tara is overflowing with fury juice!; Tommy dies from internal bleeding (or too much skin walking?) which sets Sam and Alcides on a vengeance spiral against wolf-pack leader Marcus who is now hitting on Alcides ladyfriend (though no one knows this yet); 

But most of all Episode 10 is about Fiona Shaw's awesomeness and her delicious vocal control -- weird Spanish accent aside -- in displaying all those internal psychotic breaks and shifts from Marnie to Antonia. She's continuing the slow morphing from meek dim Marnie to superior why-do-people-question-my-awesomeness Marnie? Which results in all sorts of great line readings like the self righteous/needy "I have put my soul at risk to destroy the night beasts for you" and the delightfully boasty "We've got our very own vampires in the ladies room!" and the grinning madness "Have you ever seen me so happy?"... well, yes Fiona, like that time you were an even bigger loon in Black Dahlia; That Cheshire grin is scarier than any Jack-o-Lantern that's every come before. 

Line Reading Hall of Fame

Fate brought us together to fight evil. Did you really think no one was going to get hurt?

At episode's end Jesus has broached Marnie's protection spell, but not her dark heart and he's relayed the new sit'ch back to the other reinforcements. Marnie is the Big Bad, not Antonia the dead ghost possessing her. But then Marnie suddenly teleports everyone ... where? Cue the vampires arriving to blow shit up. Cue: credits.  

Body Count: 1 nameless vampire and 1 skinwalker (Goodbye Tommy! Goodbye rich comic opportunities for other actors to pretend to be him pretending to be them. Sniffle); Sex Scenes: 0 (what!?!); Best Sookie Moment: "I never promised that." Anna Paquin is good with the hard honesty and cleft heart; Funniest Moment: Nan's inner 5 year old tyrant comes out, every vampire pissing her off. "True Death for you, too!"; Episode MVP: Marnie; Episode Grade: B+

Previously on True Blood
4.1 "She's Not There"  MVP: Marnie; Grade: C
4.2 "You Smell Like Dinner"  MVP: Eric; Grade: A
4.3 "If You Love Me Why...?"  MVP: Eric; Grade: B+
4.4 "I'm Alive and On Fire"  MVP: Sookie; Grade: B+
4.5 "Me and the Devil"   MVP: Arlene; Grade: A-
4.6 "I Wish I Was the Moon"  MVP: Pam; Grade: B
4.7 "Cold Grey Light..."   MVP: Jessica; Grade: B- 
4.8 "Spellbound" MVP: The Fortenberrys (Hoyt & Maxine); Grade: B+ 
4.9 "Let's Get Out of Here" MVP: Sam; Grade: B 

True Blood: "Me and the Devil" & "I Wish I Was the Moon"

So get this. I offered up True Blood reviewing duties to the entire Team TFE last week when I was out of town and noone bit. What's up with that? No fangbangers in this house? Which means we've got two episodes to chat up today. Ratings for True Blood are strong this season and deservedly so. We're only halfway in but -- at this point -- it's much stronger than Season 3. It also isn't as repetitive as Season 2. We definitely approve thus far.

"Drink now."

4.5 "Me and the Devil"
Here we have a perfectly titled episode as everyone is battling their personal demons (Tara and Eric specifically) or actual demons as the case might be (Arlene & Terry who hold an exorcism of sorts in their house, still worrying about their spooky baby).

This is also another terrific rangey episode, with fast pacing, surprises and character bits. It kicks off with a violent family squabble (Tommy vs. his parents), moves expertly through tense comedy including the aforementioned exorcism, Bill glamouring his latest fling to "scream" and run whenever she sees him, and Lafayette's post Pam-cursing reaction to Marnie's 'who? me?' act.

That's some catchy shit for your headstone!"

Despite the abundance of actual plot there's graceful tightening of story threads as Sookie's finally braids to Marnie's when the women meet under the false pretenses of a reading. It doesn't turn out how Sookie or Marnie OR the audience expect.

Best Sookie Moment

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True Blood 4.1: "She's Not There"

Bill still makes her red eyed and weepyLet the Season 4 premiere of HBO's hit series True Blood be a lesson to all future showrunners. This is what happens when your show has introduced non-integrated plotlines for each and every member of a huge ensemble cast. This is what happens when you try a time jump so popular post Battlestar Galactica and don't trust the audience to just reconfigure the pieces on their own.  This is what happens when you back yourself into storylines that maybe weren't good ideas to begin with. I speak of Jason Stackhouse becoming the paterfamilia (of sorts) for a whole den of barely human hilbillies and a certain reveal about our heroine. To quote Sookie (Anna Paquin) herself with the same annoyed/surprised/this-is-stupid inflection from the Season 3 climax...

I'm a fairy?

And what is it that's happened, exactly?

The show's premiere episode "She's Not There" proved to be a random disjointed mess, forced to spend the entire hour on reintroductions to every character since we've missed a whole year of their lives (as has Sookie). I can't speak for television ratings but if True Blood hadn't already peaked in terms of the number of fangbangers gathered for each episode, this premiere had garlic all over it. Wouldn't it automatically repel new viewers?

Fairy-Land

"She's Not There" kicks off with a weirdly dull and anachronistic (for this show) opening. Sookie is trapped (though she doesn't yet know it) in an alternate fairy dimension which looks like a gaudy Maxfield Parrish knock-off painting with no-budget set dressing. Sookie doesn't eat the glowing fruit which turns out to be a good idea -- the side effects are both nasty and uglifying.

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