'The Killing,' Conflict and Controversy on AMC

Was Darren Richmond the Killer? Only Time will Tell

AMC’s The Killing is an extraordinary police procedural that had me riveted from beginning to end. The question of who killed Rosie Larsen became little more than a footnote to me in many ways as I found myself more intrigued by the characters investigating her murder, grieving over her loss as well as those suspected (wrongly or rightly) of being responsible. The A-list talent that AMC secured for the show’s cast was definitely the difference maker in its novel approach to the rather shopworn conventions of the TV police procedural that provided a much needed breath of fresh air for the genre and a little outrage too, especially in the much-discussed season finale.

The Investigators
Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnamon as Detectives Sarah Linden and Steven Holder were positively brilliant in their respective roles. Enos, with her shock of red hair pulled back in a ponytail and those thick fall sweaters that her character was prone to wearing in the bleak, damp Seattle weather, was a revelation in the show’s central role. Her lack of makeup allowed her natural beauty to show through in a way that I’ve rarely seen on network television. Moreover, as Linden she possesses a reserved manner that is rare in homicide detectives I’ve seen portrayed on television that makes her unique. The way she quietly discerns the fact that the Stanley Larsen who’s ATM card was found in Discover Park was not a suspect in a disappearance but rather the father of a victim was breathtaking. It was all done in a single glance at the pink bicycle in the Larsen garage and then of course that with that single, devastating question “Mrs. Larsen, do you have a daughter?” I couldn’t help but feel a lump in my throat as she asked it, even while knowing the answer.

Joel Kinnamon as the Wigger-esque, former junkie/narcotics Detective Steven Holder was just as good in his own way. At first he was a grating presence on the show for me, with his street patois and constant niggling of Linden’s decision to call it quits with Seattle Homicide in favor of a new life with her son and boyfriend in Sonoma, CA. Gradually however, Kinnamon was able to imbue his character with enough humanity that I began to see past the street smart exterior to a cop who seemed like a genuinely good guy underneath. It was great the way he deployed his ‘street persona’ honed during his work in buy bust operations to go places at Fort Washington High where Rosie was a student that the more reserved Detective Linden simply could not. He constantly surprised me with his every move which at first glance seemed to be in service to himself, but would invariably turn out to be in service to the investigation.

The Family
Michelle Forbes and Brent Sexton as Mitch and Stanley Larsen blow the doors of the place in conveying the grief that descends upon a family that loses a child to an act of violence. A lot of it was hard to watch, though not due to any lack of dramatic skill, if anything, it was because there was a surfeit of it. The way Forbes can speak in a voice cracking with fear for Rosie and then crackling in fury as she calls around looking for her (“I swear that girl is gonna get the ass-kicking of her life”) had a lot of depth to it and brought back memories of the same righteous anger that she could demonstrate in her roles as Ensign Ro in Star Trek: TNG and as Admiral Helena Cain in Battlestar Galatica (Re-imagined).

Brent Sexton was also amazing to watch. As the gruff but lovable Stan, he really made you feel the differing stages of grief he was undergoing, from the emotional support he provided to his wife in the aftermath of Rosie’s death, to the emotional breakdown he experienced after viewing Rosie in the dress they provided to the funeral director. The Jekyll and Hyde aspects of his character was fascinating to watch.

Jamie Ann Allman as Terri Marek, Rosie’s aunt and Mitch’s sister also turns in a great performance. She becomes the rock of the family in becoming more involved in raising the boys as Mitch and Stan go through this crisis. 

The Suspects
I found this aspect of the show to be the weakest since you knew that Rosie’s killer couldn’t have been the red herrings we viewed early on, like Jasper and his buddy Kris Echols. The teacher Bennett Ahmed (Brandon Jay McLaren in a brilliant role) was a more interesting suspect because of the racial angle and his connection to possible Islamic extremists. Billy Campbell as Darren Richmond was excellent as ever, even better than his role as Jordan Collier in the acclaimed sci-fi show 4400.

Thoughts on the Season Finale
I know that the finale was very controversial because of the doubt cast on the guilt of Darren Richmond in the final minutes of the episode. I was glad to see that he wasn’t really the killer. I thought it was too easy since the fact that Rosie’s body had been found in the campaign car clearly indicated that it was a setup from the start. One thing that I haven’t seen mentioned often is Terri’s obvious recognition of Jasper’s father, Michael Ames as a client in her guise as a Beau Soleil girl during the gathering after Rosie’s funeral. It was awkward and purposely pointed out to viewers in an obvious way.

The fact that Ames was a client of Beau Soleil does not necessarily make him the murderer but he is a real estate developer whose interests coincide with the Mayor’s in developing the Seattle waterfront, and what better way to eliminate Richmond than to frame him for murder? I don’t know, doesn’t really sound plausible to me, seems that all they would have to do is expose Richmond’s use of Beau Soleil to do that, though perhaps Jasper’s dad and the Mayor were loath to risk exposing their own involvement in the escort service as well. If I were wagering, I’d put my money on Senator Eaton, Gwen’s father. A murder like Rosie’s would have to have two motives in my opinion, that combine the personal with the political. It is only in Senator Eaton that we have both. He is already on record as having expressed his disapproval of Richmond both as a candidate and as his daughter’s lover from the start. His social position already marks him as an obvious candidate for using Beau Soleil’s services, thus he would have likely been acquainted with Rosie if he were indeed a client. Only in Senator Eaton does a personal interest and a political interest in Richmond’s destruction collide.

At any rate, The Killing was amazing, and I urge you to see it if you haven’t already done so. It is first-rate, and even if there was no definitive resolution at the end, what of it? Are we Americans so obsessed with closure that this show’s lack of it is enough to drive us mad with anger just because it chose to raise more questions than it answered? I think Veena Sud’s desire to defeat the conventions of this particular genre is to be commended; the acting, moody soundtrack and atmospheric cinematography all combined to provide one of the best viewing experiences of the year IMHO, as well as inspiration in accomplishing the same in my own work. I look forward to seeing more next season.

Long Island Massacre Driven by Addiction?

Killer in plain sight

Police pegged the motive for the heinous massacre at a Long Island Pharmacy this weekend over a presumed addiction to painkillers on the part of the suspect captured in surveillance footage. I agree that this is probably the motive, but we can't ignore the possibility that this man could have been involved in distribution as well. Either way, it's a horrendous crime that with any hope, will not go unpunished. I mean, just think of the lives this man destroyed in the desire to feed his habit. A high school senior days away from graduating from high school. He's definitely a sociopath, but whether it was his lack of empathy for his victims or the addiction talking, only time will tell. Let's hope they catch this guy quick before he can hurt anyone else. If you recognize this guy, please call the Homicide Squad at 631-852-6392. all calls will be kept confidential.

Stieg Larsson's girlfriend Eva's Viking Curse

Eva Gabrielsson reflects on her life with Stieg Larsson in a new book

Very interesting article in the New York Times on Eva Gabrielsson, Stieg Larson's girlfriend, who describes putting a Viking curse on his father and brother in her new book ‘There Are Things I Want You to Know’ About Stieg Larsson and Me.” I don't know what to think about this whole thing, except that the only thing that seems to be without blame in this affair is the magazine that he devoted a good portion of his life too, is Expo the anti-racist publication investigating Swedish far-right groups. Makes me think the royalties should have gone to Expo instead of the family.

In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night…Well, You Know What I Mean

Ryan Reynolds Shines as Hal Jordan

I saw Green Lantern yesterday, and while disappointed with it to some extent, I lay blame for any failures it may be guilty of with the Hollywood suits and the straitjacket they inevitably place on any origin story set in the world of comic books rather than the writers or Martin Campbell, the director. Ryan Reynolds did a good job as Hal Gordon, the daredevil (or devil may care, take your pick) test pilot who is pressed into service as a member of the Green Lantern Corps when his predecessor Abin Sur (Temuera Morrison) dies from an attack by Parallax.

Things That Could Have Been Better
Now, to anyone familiar with the Green Lantern comics, Parallax was actually Hal Jordan, but I’ll give it a pass on that because I always hated that story line since it was always a bit too grim for me. The film had several strong performances in my opinion, from Mark Strong as Sinestro, to the aforementioned Temuera Morrison as Abin Sur (however short) and Clancy Brown voicing Parallax. My primary problem with it was that too much of it was set on Earth for my liking. The parts of it on Earth, whether cheering up his nephew after crashing an F-35 in an incident eerily similar to the way his father was killed, or taking Carol Ferris on a joyride over Coast City a la Clark and Lois’s ride over Metropolis in the first Superman movie bored me to death and the latter scene in particular was presumptuous as all hell, since Campbell’s film doesn’t even begin to approach Donner’s classic from the late ‘70s. Another thing I didn’t like was that there was far too little of Kiliwog. His entrance and exit was far too brief for a story, even an origin story, about Green Lantern in my opinion. What there was of him was pretty good however, as he taught him about the importance of strength of will and forming constructs but it could have a been a lot better. I’m still not sure about Michael Clarke Duncan voicing Kiliwog either, though that probably had less to do with Duncan’s performance than the fact that I was able to recognize him instantly, which took a little away from the suspension of disbelief needed to enjoy it. The constructs that Kiliwog came up with to test Hal during this sequence were well done however, you could feel the effort expended by Jordan to keep up and sold me on the film's ability to render Oa and the Corps in future films.

Oa and the Guardians
The Guardians were done very well, and to be honest I actually preferred the filmmakers’ version of Parallax as a fallen one of their number more than the actual comics original version. Hal’s initial introduction to life in the Corps by Tomar-Re (voiced by Geoffrey Rush) was very well done, one of the best moments in the film. Peter Sarsgaard as Hector Hammond was also done very well and his relationship with his Senator father (Tim Robbins) was mildly interesting. The final battle at the end was more along the lines of what I expected for the entire film with Hal going all out against Parallax, though even here, the constructs he created to sling the fiend into the Sun weren't quite as good as I had hoped.

Final Grade
I give the film a B-, hopefully the sequel will be better, but for that to happen the filmmakers will have to be willing to leave the confines of Earth a lot more for the story to work. I mean he is after all in charge of an entire sector of space (2814) right? We need to see him do more than just hang out on Earth if you ask me.

Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides

Depp is better than ever in the 4th film

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was a lot better than I expected. I felt it was far superior to the franchise’s prior installments that starred Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. While Johnny Depp’s performance as Jack Sparrow is without doubt meant to be the heart of the film franchise, it was Ian McShane’s performance as Blackbeard and Penelope Cruz’s turn as his romantic interest that really set this one apart from the others. I found the story line a lot more interesting as well, about the quest between Britain, Spain and Blackbeard for the mythical Fountain of Youth.

Better Chemistry
The humor and swordplay between Depp and Cruz felt a lot more genuine than that between Depp and Knightley, especially the first scene between them where Sparrow is facing off against an impostor who seems to know his every move, every parry and thrust that he’s been known to use against opponents. It’s simultaneously fraught with danger, mystery and a bit of sexiness that underlies a good deal of romantic chemistry between the two stars that I hadn’t expected.

Better Villain
That is topped only by Blackbeard’s introduction, on the Queen’s Head Revenge, where Sparrow has been kidnapped due to his presumed knowledge of the location of the Fountain of Youth. Having suborned mutiny among the crew, Sparrow stands on deck in  premature triumph, until the door of the Captain’s quarters opens behind and out emerges for the first time, an antagonist even darker than Davey Jones, Ian McShane’s Blackbeard. He possesses an ungodly power over the Queen’s Head Revenge, which enables to him squash Sparrow’s mutiny and set the ship back on course for the Fountain of Youth.

Return of Old Friends (Or Enemies)
Geoffrey Rush is back as Barbossa, who is on a single-minded pursuit of Blackbeard for  taking his ship, or Jack’s ship if you will, The Black Pearl. With an alluring (yet creepy) interlude with mermaids and a finale packing a confrontation of the nations that was very well executed (and historically accurate as well) if Spanish history is any indication, the movie's pace never flagged at all, which I've found to be quite rare for any movie nearly two and half hours in length. This is one installment you won’t want to miss.  I give it a grade of A, it allows you to lose yourself for two and a half hours which is more than I can say for the earlier three films in the franchise.

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights

Kiliwog's History Revealed

I watched Green Lantern: Emerald Knights this week prior to the premiere of the feature film and was amazed at how good it was. It was a series of stories that detailed the history of major characters in the Green Lantern Corps like Killiwog, Mogo and Laira. In a perfect world, stories like the ones told in this animated feature would be shot as a live action film, for it and its predecessor Green Lantern: First Flight far outshone the Ryan Reynolds vehicle that premiered on Friday.

Ancient Enemies
At the outset of the film, a Green Lantern on her way to Oa is killed while passing near the surface of Oa’s sun by vile beings known as shadow demons. Boy they pulled no punches in this scene either, when Green Lanterns fall, they die violently and Lauren Montgomery and her animation team didn’t hold back anything in demonstrating that in the opening scene. The shadow demons are beings of antimatter and have apparently come under the control of Krona an ancient enemy of the Guardians and who created the antimatter universe and serve as the precursors to his eventual arrival out of the star itself to destroy the Guardians, the Lantern Corps and Oa.

Avra and the First Construct

Unlikely Heroes
As the Green Lantern Corps prepare for battle and the Guardians begin spiriting away relics and other treasures like the Book of Oa in anticipation of the struggle to come, Hal Jordan (voiced by Nathan Fillion) tells a young, newly designated Green Lantern named Arisia Rrab the story of the first Lantern. Avra is a “mere scribe” who forged the first construct, a weapon that was to become the forte of the corps and the foundation of the power of the Green Lanterns. I really enjoyed this story the most of all, since its hero was such an unlikely one, and a skinny, nerdy writer at that!

Kiliwog’s Kiliwog
The next story about Kiliwog gave a great deal of insight into his character as well, even demonstrating that the term “poozer,” his signature line, was something handed down from one generation of Lanterns to another, just as the first construct was.

Laira and her Father do battle

Like Father Like Daughter
Laira’s (voiced by Kelly Hu) story was very powerful in an emotional sense and easily possessed some of the best action of the entire film. Her struggle against her family, particularly the scene of her battling her father as tender images of her childhood with him were activated across her bedchamber was like something out of Kurosawa. Extraordinary stuff.

Final Thoughts
Mogo’s story hails from an Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons comic written over a quarter century ago and was a great way to bring to life yet another classic narrative made by the immortal duo who created the graphic novel Watchmen. Abin Sur's (Arnold Vosloo) battle with Atrociticus was a nice way to round out things, particularly the philosophical conversation (or debate?) he has with his comrade Sinestro. The final struggle with Krona was excellent, far more rousing and satisfying than anything in the live action film and the reason why I have to give this film an A+, since it really captured the essence of the Green Lantern ethos in a way that few stories, animated or live action have in a long time. Go see it, you’ll have a splendid time.

‘The Protector’ While Familiar, Has a Family Dynamic That Ultimately, Works

Ally Walker’s new police procedural, “The Protector,” definitely got better as it went along for me. At first, I was pretty blase about the show since the premise felt a little too close to her last police procedural, ‘Profiler’ that premiered on NBC in 1996. The show’s saving grace for me wasn’t the rather standard plot about a mugging that eventually turns to murder, it was the way that Detective Gloria Sheppard (Walker) juggled her responsibilities as a mom of two boys with the grisly details that working homicide in a big city like LA entailed.

A Compelling Dichotomy
The show juxtaposed these two areas of her life with enough humor to keep me watching, since I’ve alway been a sucker for this kind of stuff. The Protector has a few other things in its favor as well however; the first is a good supporting cast, from Tisha Campbell-Martin (Martin, My Wife and Kids) as Sheppard’s partner Michelle Dulcet, to Chris Payne Gilbert (Dexter) as her brother Davey, with whom Sheppard and her sons have moved in with and her boss, Lt. Valdez, (Mel Ferrer) who runs interference for her with higher ups when her unorthodox crime solving techniques get her into hot water like any boss worth his salt should. I know I’ve tweeted this before but I just have to repeat it because it was such a great example of what the show is ultimately shooting for. I’m talking about the scene where Sheppard notices her older son Nick (Sage Ryan) about to thumb through her case folder while she’s fixing breakfast one morning. Rather than the harsh scolding one might expect in such a situation, she simply stops him with a warning that a photo of a corpse with its head split open is what awaited him if he opened that folder, and his fingers returned at light speed to where they belonged.

More moments like that is what I’m looking for from this show. It airs on Lifetime on Sunday nights at 10 p.m., so give it a shot, I think you’ll like what you find there.

Game of Thrones - Episode 8 "The Pointy End" The Dwarf, the Dothraki and Racism? Do Tell

 Khal Drogos gets ready to rumble

Out of a season of brilliant episodes, 'The Pointy End' stands head and shoulders above the rest. Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister is absolutely magnificent. The way he deploys his wit (and the Lannister fortune) to save his skin time and time again never fails to impress. The scene of him with Shaga, son of Dolf was a perfect example of how well he can think on his feet when his life is at stake (as it so often is, alas) and was even better than the scene last week of how the same quick thinking won him his freedom.

The storyline with the Dothraki is my next favorite element of GOTHR. I must confess that I never had much respect for Jason Momoa (due to his turn as the horribly-written Ronon in Stargate Atlantis, may its name live in infamy) but his performance here as the Dothraki warlord, Khal Drogos, makes it look like his upcoming role in the remake of Conan the Barbarian might work after all. I'm particularly taken with the metaphoric nature of the Dothraki language, where he refers to his Khaleesi as "Moon of my life" and she in turn refers to him as "my sun and stars." It's strangely tender and flowery for a people with such a violent way of life.

I've come across a line of thinking toward Game of Thrones while googling it that accuses the show of a racist depiction of the Dothraki as opposed to the people of the Seven Kingdoms who are clearly a stand-in for the people of Western Europe circa the thirteenth century. It has been said that especially during the wedding between Khal Drogos and Daenerys Targaryen, depictions of the near tribal, Asiatic-looking Dothraki bordered on the offensive, with their displays of public coupling (especially of the non-missionary kind) and consumptions of horses' hearts. I don't know that I agree with that.

While I would agree that the Dothraki are a combination of tribal African and Asian influences, I see the primary historical element of the Dothraki as Mongolian in nature. Of course even Khal Drogos' speech after an attempt on Daenerys' life was foiled is but another bastardized version of the most famous quote of Genghis Khan made even more famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger in his Conan. If you're comparing a group to the Mongols, then you're being anything but racist, since they proved themselves superior, militarily anyway, to the European mounted Knights and crossbowmen on the field of battle.

In my view, George R.R. Martin and the filmmakers adapting his vision to the small screen are simply using the the broad outlines of history to craft a compelling tale of great fiction, no more and no less.  Rather than leveling baseless charges of racism at the show, maybe those offended by certain aspects of it should simply turn the channel instead.

I also love the portrayal of Tywin Lannister by Charles Dance, that introduction of his character gutting a deer in his tent was quite nasty. When he expresses his disapproval in one way or another of both his sons Jaime and Tyrion, it has a really hard-edge to it. And what about Prince Joffrey? (has anybody ever looked more inbred than little Jack Gleeson at the moment?). Anyway, I really look forward to next week's episode. Only three more days to Sunday! With all the maneuvering going on in Game of Thrones to look forward to, it's starting to feel like an eternity.

Interview at The Freelance and Fiction Blog for The Abattoir

I'm happy to report that an interview conducted by Rachel V. DiMaggio at The Freelance and Fiction blog has been posted for you to read at your leisure. In it, you can find out about my motivations for writing the book, how I created the mood for the narrative and a few personal things about me. It was a great experience, and one that I hope to repeat with other book bloggers who might be looking for guest posts and interviews with indie writers in the near future. Thanks a lot Rachel! I had a great time.

iCloud and What It Means For the ebook Revolution

Steve Jobs giving the keynote at the WWDC 2011 Monday

I just finished watching the Apple Keynote at the WWDC 2011 that was streamed on Apple's website and I must say that I am very excited about iCloud and what its potential impact on the ebook revolution might mean. To put it as simply as possible, iCloud is a new way offered by Apple to scan and mirror the content (documents, photos, music, etc.,) of the company's 200 million iOS devices that have been sold around the world using a digital locker, or 'server in the sky.' Using the server farms at the company's massive new data center in Maiden, North Carolina, the company will begin rolling out this new service officially in the fall.

Now before all of you Windows trolls start going on about how Dropbox was first to the party, and that this isn't really anything new, hold your fire and just bear with me for a moment to consider the implications of this, especially for indie writers. iCloud uploads any document that you're working on to the 'cloud' and then pushes that document back to any other iOS devices you may have and updates the document on those other devices, whether iPads, iPhones or Macs as you update it. This means that if you're writing a book on a PC or Mac, and feel the need to do some edits on the go, then you can just pick up your iPhone or iPod Touch or what have you and complete your edit secure in the knowledge that it is identical to the document that you just put away when you left your computer. No more emailing a document to yourself and, for God's sake, renaming the document so that it doesn't get confused with any earlier versions of the same document. 

A solution like this would be a Godsend to indie writers like myself. When I was writing The Abattoir, on a Mac using Apple Pages, it was a pain to have to do exactly what I just described. I would have to export it to an epub document, then transfer it to iTunes, and sync that with my phone. Then whether I was on the subway or at a Starbucks or wherever, I could perform edits and send them to myself via email. It was an OK solution, but it also involved a lot of unnecessary hassles as well. Now, with iCloud, and the newly released Apple Pages for iOS, those problems will be over. Even now, I'm busy writing some of the sequel to The Abattoir on my phone using Pages, and it is a remarkably fluid experience. When iCloud arrives, the solution will be complete. I can write and edit both on the phone and on the Mac without having to worry about this or that version and all of the frustration that comes along with it. 

When you add free to the equation, as Apple is apparently doing, it's a solution that is only that much sweeter. I could kiss Steve Jobs for this. (Is it me, or did his voice sound a lot weaker than in previous events?) Note to self, say a prayer for the man, he did not look good today. As one who has admired him for a long time, it saddens me to see him in that condition. At any rate, I am really excited about what iCloud and products like Pages for iPhone has to offer to us indies out there struggling to produce quality work without pulling our hair out in the process. Apple made things just a little bit easier for those of us fortunate enough to use their products, and for that, I'm thankful.

Second Review!

I don't mean to toot my own horn (actually I do, since this is partially what the blog is for after all ;)) but I received a second review yesterday from a reader who wrote very passionately of just how impressed she was with The Abattoir.

X-Men: First Class, Mutant Pride and Power

I saw X-Men: First Class yesterday. While I enjoyed the sixties setting and the use of the Cuban Missile Crisis as a historical backdrop to the founding of the X-Men, there were some errors there that I thought marred what might otherwise have been a very good film. For instance, the film tried to adapt famous sayings from the sixties like “Black and Proud” with one of their own, “Mutant and Proud” but it just didn’t add up. Another was Professor Xavier’s use of the term “groovy” when trying to pick up young women. We have to remember that this film was taking place in October of 1962, not 1967 or ’68. These are terms more geared toward the sixties counterculture, which took place in the latter half of the decade, which was in part a response to events like the Kennedy assassination. While he was alive, they simply didn’t exist, there was no reason for them to exist because the events that made them imperative hadn’t happened yet. This is a huge error in my judgment and calls into question the writers and directors’ grasp of history. Enormous changes had to take place in America over the course of the ‘60s for the nation’s youth culture to reach the point where they could get to expressions of gay or black (or genus) pride. Instead the filmmakers seem to assume that as long as they placed it in the sixties, or any year in that turbulent yet pivotal decade, that it would be OK.

As far as the plot is concerned, I found the film to be on firmer footing, though even there it ran into serious problems. I thought the film’s version of Darwin was well-meaning but ultimately unsatisfying. Angel (Zoe Kravitz) had a nice action scene against Banshee at the end, though the character was a blond guy in the comic books. Banshee was done pretty well, especially the way they demonstrated how he could use the sound waves from his scream to fly. Nicholas Hoult’s Hank McCoy was the best of the bunch, the way he unintentionally brought out the Beast in himself was one of the film’s high points. The best implementation of the film characters in my opinion was James McAvoy’s Professor X and Michael Fassbender’s Magneto, who were great in their respective roles. Fassbender in particular captured Magneto’s rage and desire for vengeance with great skill.

In many ways the best part of the film was the James Bond-ish, Dr. No-feel of the film, with Sebastian Shaw’s (Kevin Bacon) nuclear-powered submarine and the elegant ascots that he wore. Of course any fan of the comic books knows that the filmmakers took liberties with this character but I still thought that it worked for the purposes of this movie. The production design however, was the real star here, and it showed in Raven’s miniskirts (even though they, like "Mutant and Proud" were historically inaccurate)  and the classic fin-tail cars of the era. January Jones as Emma Frost, the White Queen was great in the role, she brought just the right amount of sex appeal to the film, although I thought she was far too deferential to Sebastian Shaw. They were equal partners in the Hellfire Club as I recall, so they definitely dropped the ball in terms of showing her subservient to Shaw in the film.

Overall, I thought the film rated a B-, good, but not quite as good as it could have been.