American Gods

I read Neil Gaiman's American Gods so long ago that I barely remember it.  I know I liked it, but honestly I remember it more in concept than anything else.  Perhaps that's why I'm enjoying the hell out of Starz' television adaptation of it so much, I'm not sweating the details of the source material that much. 

Rather than painstakingly recreating the book, as well as elements of its pseudo-sequel Ananzi Boys, showrunners Bryan Fuller ("Pushing Daisies," "Hannibal") and Michael Green (Logan, Alien: Covenant, and Green Lantern) have wisely chosen to concentrate on dazzling visuals and mining the incredible talent of their cast.  First and foremost among the latter is Ian McShane as Mr. Wednesday.  He is perfect as the conman and old god Odin who plots against the new gods. He ruled every scene he appeared in on HBO's much-missed "Deadwood" so I couldn't ask for a better lead. 

Ricky Whittle from the the UK's "Hollyoaks" is more than adequate as Shadow, who's learning of the gods just as we viewers do.  The rest of the cast so far is a wonder of stuntcasting, and that's a good thing.  One can never take one's eyes off Crispin Glover in anything he's in, and then there's Cloris Leachman, Kristen Chenoweth, and Corbin Bernsen. 

Gillian Anderson shines as Media, a small role in the book, but here stunning as manifestations of Lucille Ball, David Bowie, and Marilyn Monroe.  Also impressive are Pablo Schreiber as the leprechaun and the usually annoying comedian Dane Cook in a surprising and serious turn.

So far it seems more of a road trip than a war of the gods, but I'm having fun watching week after week.  Fun television is not something we get very often any more, and this is one of the bright spots.  It may inspire me to pick up the book(s) again, but I'm afraid I might be disappointed.  I think the show might be superior. 

Rio 2

Rio 2 ~ Other than being very colorful, having some great Brazilian carnivale music, and explaining exactly what was going on in Angry Birds Rio, the first Rio didn't do much for me. If I remember correctly, I may have even dozed off during it. While the sequel has its faults, I think it was a bit better.

This time I think I got some of the subtext, intended or unintended, of Rio. This is a 1930s musical. It's got everything - stars, dance numbers, songs, romance, comedy, chase sequences, action, lots of subplots, and even a bit of action - it's the perfect 1930s musical. You can even see the casting, an all-star cast, fitting into a modern version of that style. The bits by Bruno Mars, Janelle Monae, and Kristen Chenoweth steal the show. On that subtext, I really loved this.

As a movie however, like I said, it's got faults. There are dozens of characters, and at least a half-dozen subplots, not to mention the tiresome preaching about saving the rain forest and how bad man is. There are so many characters I gave up trying to keep track of them about halfway through. The subplots are spaced so far apart I sometimes forgot what was going on. The writers need to watch some HBO to learn quick cutting between scenes.

The kids will probably love it. If I ever get back to Angry Birds Rio, I might like it a bit more, but I probably won't see it again. I will buy the soundtrack though, I can't get enough Janelle Monae. And if you can't either, be warned, she gets about thirty seconds in this flick, as opposed to the soundtrack.