Johnny’d B Good Again – though he might be Johnny Angel

Thanks to VioletsFrameWorkblog for finding this Examiner Article. 

Perry didn’t get enough John Porter, yet,  how likely is it that (a) this new Chris Ryan book would make it to film or TV ( Okay – maybe very likely) or (b) that Richard Armitage would want to reprise his role, even if he could? Not as likely. I think maybe he’s moved on, though he’d have a hard time justifying his rejection of the role based on violence.

Still, a stint on a popular American Cable TV show, even Starz, is good exposure – but if it were in the same mold as the current version – not so sure he’s in that place anymore. And, they already did a Strike Back Origins ( our original Strike Back).

It must be a prequel.  It would be difficult to raise John Porter from the dead considering his end, and what seemed convincing evidence that just about everyone who knew him, believed the execution to be real . Would an undamaged John Porter be as complex as the damaged version?

I can dream that there’ll be a version as good as the first one, and that my John Porter gets dusted off, dons his uniform, and is brought back to me.

I can  dream that dream, and this one, too.

Palabras

Before I moved into my more permanent ( but not the permanent ) house here in Mexico, I had a beautiful apartment in town, close to the water. One of my landlords  who lived over the wall  in the apartment next door taught me that a good way to spend the later afternoon was on the patio with my laptop.

He had a great set-up, too, with a desk at the back of his patio where he spent most of the day on line, handling business, communicating with his family in the states, and when he had a chance, watching DVDs – bootlegs are so easy to find in Mexico.

But I was pretty sure that Strike Back would not be among the DVDs he could find. Moreover, at the urging of his wife, my other landlord, I actually did the unthinkable – I gave her a link to Armitage Agonistes, along with some of my favorite posts. There were some of the earliest posts, some of the, ahem, literary posts, a fair sprinkling of Pinter/Proust, two OT posts Rising Rising, Risen and this one. And I threw in one or two that I thought were humorous – and of course, a bit of squee, so this,

John PORTER, PERFECT

After I sent the links, I was sorry I neglected to include this and this.

Mr. B and Ms. C are the only two people in my RL who can link me to this blog. When Ms. C asked, I couldn’t say no – because she never said no to me, not once during my stay there and the kindness of both these people bowled me over.  Learning ( from me of course) that it was my birthday last Sunday, and there  I was, away from family and friends, they invited me to join a group of friends who were also celebrating some April birthdays.  It gave me a chance to meet some people right away.  and also, well it didn’t matter so much anymore if I disclosed I was a fangirl ( a term Sra. C never heard). I had a lot of  ‘splainin’ to do. And she listened, somewhat bemused.

I should also say that I spent my first Passover in Mexico ( speaking of P) at a seder sponsored by the synagogue. I was shocked and delighted when course after course was exactly as it was supposed to be – in fact, I had some of the best chopped liver ever – and as I always say, if there’s brisket, I’m in.

Anyway, I gave Mr. B my Strike Back DVD to watch . Yup I introduced him to John Porter – and guess what – Richard Armitage has a new fan,  and while I don’t think Mr. B. will be following this blog anytime soon, I’m going to make every attempt to get him to see Into the Storm with me when it opens here – and that will be, I’m sorry to say – over a month later than in the US and UK.  True. Now I’ll be like those other Armitage fans who are pissing and moaning because we can’t join in the discussion an hour after the film ends. It’s not like I haven’t considered a “quick hop” to LA – just three hours away – but it isn’t practical because I have to travel in October, and anyway, how would I explain to my nephew – where I would crash, that I left Mexico to see a tornado movie?

I can only remember fondly the night of December 12 when I bundled up in 12 degree weather and walked a block and half to my local theater to watch the midnight showing of DOS, and was writing about it 10 minutes after the film ended. This New Yorker  ex-pat is going to have to learn patience.

Gee, there are a lot of good words and names for the letter P in the Blogging A to Z April Challenge, – but sometimes, and this may still be the altitude hitting me at 5,000 feet above sea level, but sometimes, I just forget the obvious. I may not be a New Yorker anymore, but I’m still Perry–Period.

Mr. B – I thought you would like this.

 

 

Strike Back: Gerry’s Back! Tonight

A favorite character of mine and others on tonight’s episode – Gerry Baxter.  Provided by Crave on Line ( they’ve also been reviewing episodes of Strike Back Origins)

RedEye Chicago Singles Out Armitage Army in Strike Back Preview.

Red Eye Chicago TV reviewer, Curt Wagner, must have enjoyed lots of traffic on the site from Richard Armitage fans traveling there from blogs touting the his glowing review of the premiere. Because this week, he’s talking directly to us.

That’s right, members of the Armitage Army, your hero Richard Armitage strips in the latest episode of “Strike Back: Origins.” But he doesn’t fight naked.

But that’s not important to any of you, is it? You want to know where this story is going. (Sorry, no shirtless pics here; you’ll have to watch the episode.)

Read more here. Check out the preview video below, provided by Cinemax, and, remember, while we may need a hosing down after those Esquire photos, it’s John Porter who gets it in tonight’s episode- it’s a dreamy one, if you know what I mean. So tune in and come around for the post mortem.

Strike Back Tonight – With Cast Discussion (probably) to Follow

Am I running out of John Porter images for these Strike Back posts? Not likely.

Source: John Porter gets ready to infiltrate terrorist safe house. Source: RANet.com

Tonight, Episode 2, one of the best of the six episodes on Cinemax Strike Back:Origins. Look for some more discussion on video, following the film, and, over the weekend, whatever reviews Armitageworld can locate.

For even more post-viewing insight, check out Servetus’s continued analysis of the status games between the characters, as played by Richard Armitage and Andrew Lincoln ( if you haven’t already), here.

“Armitage is Excellent” -Strike Back:Origins Review

Our worries that Strike Back: Origins would not be well received in the U.S. because of its more serious tone, turns out to be unfounded. The reviews have been from good to excellent. So far, anti-Americanism has not been much of an issue – but we should be mindful that this first episode and the second, isn’t as anti-American as the last two episodes which take place in Afghanistan. But by then, viewers will be hooked.

Armitage Agonistes investigative reporter KatharineD ferreted out this review by  Hot Extract , a website dedicated to commenting on films, TV and games in the military  genre with a focus on authenticity. The review doesn’t fall squarely into the goal of  Servetus’s  Me and Richard ( 2 posts) and my own  recent reports of reviews  – which is to see how Origins has been received here in the U.S. compared to the American version, because this review was issued in June based on the DVD and looks at the  entire series. Nevertheless,  it  is worth reading and has the added bonus of reviewing Richard Amitage’s performance, which the reviewer characterizes as expert.

Richard Armitage plays John Porter, and he does it expertly. He is the consummate broken operator: detached, reticent, a shell of his former self haunted by past decisions. His character is dynamic, going from this shell to somebody driven by revenge and then finally somebody seeking to clear his name and driven by redemption. Armitage is no Schwarzenegger, and in fact looks like a regular man, which helps to defeat the stereotype that all special operators are would-be NFL linebackers. We see a range of emotion from Armitage in the Porter role, from cold and detached to warm and compassionate, from broken and depressed to rage coursing through his veins. He is a celebrated actor in the UK (particularly for his stint on the show Spooks/MI-5) and while watching Strike Back, you’ll see why. 

Strike Back Origins – Another Good Review

Screen Rants reviewed  Strike Back Origins – and gets it.  This review, as with the others, doesn’t address the acting at all. 

 It’s difficult to call one superior to the other, as each series has its own plusses  and minuses that become more readily apparent when compared to what came before (which has a different meaning depending on which side of the Atlantic you live on). Origins is probably the more reflective and earnest of the two series, while Cinemax’s Strike Back takes a lighter, more energetically rambunctious approach to the material. In the words of Eric Stoltz’ Lance from Pulp Fiction, it’s “different, but equally good.”