The new “X-Files” makes us Want to Believe

Sometimes what’s old continues to be new again. This is in large part to the overall framework of the beloved science fiction drama series. Although Hollywood seems to be short on ideas (see constant reboots/remakes), I had to welcome a return to The X-Files. The reason for this lays in the shows themes. To ‘fight for the truth’ means attempting to answer all of the mysteries that still lay in our minds.  As the ‘X-Files’ department ventures into the unknown, they come across a huge variety of cases. What makes this great for television is that there are so many things to discover. It is hard for the show to grow old when utilizing this formula (this is the same rationale for the upcoming Tales from the Crypt remake TV series coming this fall). Sometimes we just all want to believe, whether this will confirm our personal beliefs or reinsert our own suspicions.

It was 2002 and I was just graduating high school when The X-Files had ended its nine seasons. You can say I’ve always been a fan of the show but I cannot help to think that there have been so many things that have happened since – technology (internet and social media), golden renaissance of TV (The Sopranos), the battle for information transparency (Edward Snowden/Julian Assange), and heightened paranoia due to perceived threats to our own security (post 9/11). When the mini-series was announced last year, I was giddy with excitement due to the fact that we still need a show that attempts to answer existential questions. If there is any closely related show to The X Files that helped capture audience’s imagination and/or curiosity it would be The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits. Frankly, we need shows like The X-Files. Perhaps, that is why so many people are excited for the show’s return, although it’ll only be a 6 part mini-series.

The pilot episode sets up the show nicely in that it gives you a brief explanation of where Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) have been all these years and how they maintain a limited relationship. We have a backstory that takes place in 1947 Roswell, New Mexico and parallels with a case of a woman claiming she has been abducted by aliens in the present. One of Mulder’s contacts happens to be an army doctor that was on site during the Roswell incident and is only able to lead Mulder in the right direction but not give him any concrete answers. Suffice it to say, there is a larger conspiracy at work involving ‘they’ having devious plans to further the human race (at any means necessary).

While the show proposes many theories (examples: see Mulder’s theory on how aliens were brought to Earth via hydrogen bombs going off or O’Malley’s (Joel McHale) theory that digital money will be erased), it will still manage to provoke us into researching these seemingly ridiculous claims. What I found profound, in a way, was how Mulder explicitly states that he is not a believer but that he ‘wants to believe’. This is how the fans of the show really feel. We are brought into this world of the unknown and can’t help to think that there is something larger than us.

As the pilot (titled “My Struggle”) did a solid job of laying the foundation to start the show, the 2^nd episode (titled “Founder’s Mutation”) feels a lot more like the original series in that the X-Files have been reopened, Mulder and Scully are back to working together and they continue to hunt down seemingly unconnected, phenomenal cases.  What is different this go around is the sub plot of the child Mulder and Scully once raised together. We get a different sense of who they are in juxtaposition to where they are currently in their lives. It’s a nice sub plot that will likely serve as one of the arcs of the series, along with those persistent ‘they’ people meddling with everyone’s lives.

The first episode of the series was watched on Sunday (1/24/2016) by 13.5 million people and the 2nd episode (1/25/2016) had monster ratings (especially with a different time slot) at 9.5 million people. The rest of the episodes will air on Mondays at 8/7c. The series is once again created by Chris Carter. Carter writes and directs individual episodes along with James Wong, Darin Morgan, and Glen Morgan.

The miniseries has a lot of ground to cover but let’s be realistic, they cannot answer every question or create that perfectly formed next chapter every fan has in their heads. There is simply too much ground to cover as too much has happened since 9/11. We live in a different world and this ‘season 10’ of The X Files is a hybrid of what came before and the radically different times we now live in.

I highly recommend this for any X-Files fan. Why is this just a miniseries now?!

Grade: A- (for first 2 episodes of Season 10)

August 2015 Movie Releases (DvD & Blu-Ray)

August 4^th

Insurgent – The movie cousin to The Hunger Games has a sequel. Based upon the YA(young adult) novel, this sequel focuses on the war between four factions (Amity, Abnegation, Erudite, and Dauntless). Tris is one of the divergents (having all 4 characteristics) as she helps lead the way in a fight for peace or something like that. Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet and the god awful Jai Courtney.

Do You Believe? – A religious movie about how a pastor influences another pastor to be more pastorly. Starring: Mira Sorvino, Sean Astin (Rudy), and Cybill Shepherd.

True Story – This is that James Franco and Jonah Hill movie that was based on a true story. It focuses on the relationship between a writer, Finkel (Hill) and a murderer, Longo (Franco), taking upon Finkel’s identity. Finkel was a writer for the New York Times Magazine and was actually fired for fabricating parts of a news story in 2002.

Child 44 – Tom Hardy plays a Russian Intelligence agent (in the Joseph Stalin era) who takes on a case involving multiple murders of children. Leo Demidov’s (Hardy) case leads to high authorities in the Russian government. Based upon the first in a trilogy of novels by Tom Rob Smith, the story follows Demidov’s exploits. Starring: Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace (Prometheus), Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight, The Professional), Joel Kinnaman (The Killing, upcoming Suicide Squad), Jason Clarke (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Vincent Cassel (Trance), and Charles Dance (Game of Thrones, The Golden Child).An incredible cast doesn’t always spell box office success. Still, I am likely to rent this.

A Little Chaos – A movie about competitive garden designers that are tasked to create a one of a kind water fountain on the grounds of le chateau de Versailles. I’m not making this up. Starring: Kate Winslet (The Reader), Alan Rickman (Harry Potter), Stanley Tucci(Transformers 4: Age of Extinction), and Matthias Schoenaerts (Bullhead).

Adult Beginners – A drama about a businessman (Nick Kroll) that loses it all but while staying with his sister (Rose Byrne) learns valuable life lessons. Starring: Nick Kroll (The League), Rose Byrne (X-Men: First Class), Bobby Cannavale (Ant-Man), Joel McHale (Ted) and Jason Mantzoukas (The Dictator, The League).

The Salvation – Mads Mikkelsen stars as a vengeful settler in the American West circa 1870s after the murder of his family. After killing the man responsible, the leader of their gang also seeks revenge. Looks like a decent flick. Starring: Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale, Hannibal), Eva Green (Casino Royale), and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen).

Barely Lethal – This movie follows a 16 year old teenager assassin after she fakes her own death and enrolls in a suburban high school. She quickly learns that school clicks and popularity come at a price. Starring: Jessica Alba (Sin City), Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones), and Samuel L. Jackson (every movie). Yawn!

Madame Bovary – A drama focusing on an adulterous wife as she tries to escape her boring lifestyle. Starring: Mia Wasikowska (In Treatment, Alice in Wonderland), Ezra Miller (Trainwreck, upcoming Flash), Paul Giamatti (Sideways) and Rhys Ifans (The Amazing Spider-Man).

Jackie & Ryan – Katherine Heigl still manages to headline movies, although this one looks straight to video. The story involves two musicians as they find themselves in love. Starring Katherine Heigl, Ben Barnes and Clea DuVall.

 

August 11^th

Hot Pursuit – All of the previews for this mess looked like a rip off of The Heat with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. This is a ‘female buddy’ film that has a conservative cop (Reese Witherspoon) and the wife of a drug dealer (Sofia Vergara) that must team up against a drug cartel. If Sofia’s blabbering accent on Modern Family isn’t enough for you, then check this out!

Unfriended – A high school girl that killed herself due to a cruel prank now communicates via Skype in video group chats! Okay, it sounds lame but at least it’s a different way for the genre of horror to reach another generation of kids.

Robot Overlords – Humans are slaves to a race of robots that conquered the world. People are confined to their homes and must wear implants. I’m not sure how this escaped me as it stars Ben Kingsley (Ghandi, Tut) and Gillian Anderson (X-Files). I may watch if the SyFy Channel picks it up.

 

August 18^th

Little Boy – A seven year old boy ventures off to bring his father back home from the World War II. The boy’s innocence incites those embedded in the war. Starring Emily Watson, Kevin James (you read that right), Michael Rapaport, Tom Wilkinson and Ali Landry (that hot Dorito’s commercial girl).

Lambert & Stamp – This documentary chronicles the journey of aspiring filmmakers, Christopher Stamp and Kit Lambert, as they try to produce a movie during the 1960’s underground music scene. The doc also features footage with famous people related to The Who, Richard Barnes, Roger Daltry, and Pete Townshend.

5 to 7 – This is a romantic comedy that follows a woman who writes about falling in love. Things get crazy when the person she is in love with is the French diplomat’s wife! Gasp! Caged Heat sounds better.

Strangerland – A family moves to the Australian outback when a dust storm results in the loss of their children. A search party forms to find the missing children amidst rumors and suspicion. Spooky! Starring: Nicole Kidman (Fur), Joseph Fiennes (Voldemort’s brother) and Hugo Weaving (The Matrix, Lord of the Rings).

The Riot Club – In this thriller, two freshman join an infamous club at Oxford. One day, all of the spoiled, rich students get in over their heads. Based upon the play, Posh.  The movie,Skulls, is probably much better than this but that ain’t saying much!

Vendetta – Remember Dean Cain? Well, if you haven’t went out of your way to research where he’s been, you’d still only remember him for playing Superman in the TV series, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Mr. Cain has been playing in direct to video movies for quite some time. In this movie, he plays a cop who must get revenge after his wife is murdered by The Big Show (Paul Wight or WWE fame). This looks like hung-over viewing.

 

August 25^th

Aloha – An all-star cast surrounds this box office disappointment. Brian Gilcrest is a US weapons consultant that becomes disgraced, then later talks to a robot and then eventually heads to Hawaii to oversee the launch of a spy satellite. He must also get permission for the launch from the Hawaiian council as part of his assignment. Directed by fan-favorite Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire) and starring: Bradley Cooper, Emma, Stone, Rachel McAdams, John Krasinski, Danny McBride, Alec Baldwin, and Bill Murray.

Citizenfour – This riveting looking documentary showcases how filmmaker, Laura Poitras (who focuses on gov’t surveillance of private citizens post 9/11) receives an encrypted email by “citizenfour” who claims to have inside knowledge of covert surveillance by intelligence agencies. “Citizenfour” ends up being Edward Snowden. The documentary focuses on key interviews with Snowden and Julian Assange. Looks very interesting.

Where Hope Grows – Holy 1980s! This movie stars Danica McKellar (The Wonder Years) and William Zabka (bad guy from The Karate Kid). The story focuses on a former professional baseball player who retires because of panic attacks. He eventually develops a relationship with a store clerk who has Downs Syndrome. His perspective on life changes and hope is learned…blah…blah…blah….I’ll pass.

Two Days, One Night – Marion Cotillard (Inception, La Vie en Rose) stars in this drama about how working class people who may have been disenfranchised from society. Sandra (Cotillard) tries to return to her job after an episode of depression only to find that her employer no longer needs her. She learns her fate is to be decided by her fellow employees in a vote.

Big Game – A teenager finds the President of the United States in a pod while hunting. Together they must make it through the woods alive as terrorists close in. Starring: Samuel L. Jackson (every movie) and Onni Tommila.

Skin Trade – Dolph Lundgren stars as a detective out for revenge after his family was slain by the mob. The mob is eventually connected to a human trafficking ring and Dolph must work with Tony Jaa (Ong Bak, The Defender), a Thai detective, to destroy them once and for all. Hung-over viewing.

Justice League: Gods and Monsters – Set in an alternate universe, DC’s trinity (Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman) find themselves framed for a bombing. DC’s main guns all have different origin stories and must decide whether they want to save the world or conquer it. Voice actors: Benjamin Bratt, Michael C. Hall, Tamara Taylor, Jason Isaacs and C. Thomas Howell. It’s a comic book animated movie! Count me in.

Lila & Eve – A drama/thriller surrounding a mother, Lila, who loses her son in a drive by shooting.  Lila eventually meets Eve, another mother who lost her daughter the same night. Together they go after the criminals responsible. Starring: Viola Davis and Jennifer Lopez. Lifetime should starting making theatrical releases.

October Gale – This follows a doctor who tries to assist an injured man on an island from a man that is hunting him. Starring Patricia Clarkson, Scott Speedman, and Tim Roth.

The Runner – Nicolas Cage is back again as a once idealistic politician that must re-examine his life after a sex scandal destroys his career. Not to be confused with a good movie, this stars Nicolas Cage, Sarah Paulson (12 Years a Slave), Peter Fonda (Easy Rider) and Connie Nielsen (Gladiator). Will Nic Cage ever make a comeback from box office obscurity?