Tag: Tatiana Maslany

Geekscape Movie Reviews: Stronger

by MCDave

Less than a year ago Peter Berg, a director increasingly known for tackling events from recent history, delivered a tense and thrilling recreation of 2013’s Boston Marathon bombing and the subsequent days-long manhunt for the suspects at large with Patriots Day. The film was effective but lacked a subtle and more personal feel to the Boston-Strong tragedy that rocked the world. Yet, nearly nine months later we’re given just that perspective from a mildly unexpected source. David Gordon Green, an indie filmmaker who finally broke through with his 2008’s stoner-comedy Pineapple Express, finally returns to his dramatic roots. Stronger tells the emotional true story of Jeff Bauman, a bombing victim who struggles to come to grips with the debilitating results of this tragic event.

Jeff Bauman (Jake Gyllenhaal) is an unreliable and immature jokester living in the Boston suburb of Chelmsford. And when he runs into his long-time on-and-off girlfriend Erin (Tatiana Maslany) at a local bar trying to raise money for the marathon, he promises to be there at the finish line to cheer her on as she finishes the race. But Jeff’s decision to finally come through on his promise leads to the greatest struggle of his life when he losses both of his legs in the bombing and reluctantly becomes a hero to the entire city of Boston.

David Gordon Green’s Stronger grips its audience with a compelling character-driven story that’s eloquently brought to the screen by Jake Gyllenhaal. The actor’s storied career adds another shining inclusion to his already long list of achievements as Gyllenhaal delivers the year’s most notable performance to date. But for as masterful as Gyllenhaal is on screen, co-star Tatiana Maslany complements his work with an earnest and skillful turn of her own. Stronger tells a nuanced story that’s thin on memorable scenes but effective because of its refusal to cater the the heart-tugging backdrop of its over-arcing tale. The film’s undeniable dramatic moments are supported by laugh-out-loud humor courtesy of Jeff Bauman’s family members, which add a layer of depth to the entire experience. Stronger isn’t anything exceptional, and it may not even end up in the Best Picture field, but David Gordon Green shows why he’s a capable storyteller and exemplary filmmaker.

GRADE: 4/5

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Tatiana Maslany Is Finally Recognized By The Emmys!

by Gabriel von Grünbaum

“About bloody well time!” were the words on the lips of many BBC America viewers and fans of Orphan Black when the announcement came that, after long last, Tatiana Maslany was finally being nominated as Lead Actress in a Drama Series for the 67th Emmy Awards.

We wish you could hear the screaming in BBC America’s office just after 11:30 a.m. as Tatiana’s name was read… because we could hear you — loud, proud, and online.

I mean, Canada has already given her her own street, for crying out loud!

Her snubs for the nomination the last couple years have come as quite a shock to most anyone who’s seen the show. It’s not that she’s turning in a great performance each episode; it’s that she’s nailing like 10 different characters and counting—in one show! Geeking out actor-wise, it’s amazing to watch her change vocal intonation, accent, countenance, total physicality and on and on. It took me several episodes before it hit me that these different clones I was following were all the same actress—I mean, I knew it going in but completely forgot about it as I was pulled into the various storylines; each character felt so vastly different. That’s acting at it’s finest.

Maslany will now face Claire Danes (Homeland), Viola Davis (How to Get Away With Murder), Taraji P. Henson (Empire), Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) and Robin Wright (House of Cards) in the Lead Actress category this year. Amazing performances from all of them but—and let me be clear—just one each.

I bet Gareth Edwards and the crew working on the Star Wars spin-off under development are kicking themselves if rumors are true that they really have passed over Maslany for the lead. (Here’s hoping, for all our sakes, that it’s not too late to still make it happen.)

BBC America were quick to congratulate their star:

You can check out our full list of 67th Emmy Awards nominees here. And if for some reason you’re one of the sorry few still not acquainted with Tatiana please allow me to let Seth Meyers introduce you (and then go watch Orphan Black):

Go #CloneClub!

Wait, Wait, Wait, You Didn’t Watch ‘Orphan Black’ The First Time Around?

by Dennis Finocchiaro

orphanblackYou mean to tell me you missed it? Orphan Black, the story of Sarah Manning, a drifter who finds out the hard way that she’s a clone, is returning for an encore presentation starting Saturday, September 14th on BBC America. What is “finding out the hard way”, you ask? She watches a woman commit suicide at a train station and only after trying to rob her does she realize the woman is her exact duplicate. So what does she do? Steal her identity, of course!

What Sarah doesn’t know (at first) is that she’s stolen the identity of a police officer. She’s then forced into the role as she learns more about her past, herself, and begins meeting more and more of her clones.

Why should you watch? How about to see Tatiana Maslany (Diary of the Dead, The Vow), who was nominated for quite a few awards for the role. She plays multiple characters (she’s a clone, duh), and is rather excellent. She even does a variety of accents, since many of the clones come from different countries.

If her acting and hotness aren’t enough, her brother Felix, played by Jordan Gavaris, adds a level of sarcastic comedy and hilariously negative one-liners that make for guaranteed laughs. He gives Orphan Black a comedic side that at times it needs, with some of the dark characters that viewers eventually learn are pulling the strings.

The best part of watching is trying to decide which clone is the hottest. Yes, it sounds dumb since they’re all played by the same actor, but she is so good, you find yourself forgetting they’re all the same person in real life.

I have to admit, I only caught this show because of the multitude of commercials they aired during last season’s Doctor Who, but I am certainly glad the commercials made me curious.

Of course, if you did catch the show first time around, you likely agree it is absolutely worth seeing again. It airs at 10:00 P.M. on BBC America starting September 14th.

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The Other Clone Saga: A Look at ‘Orphan Black’

by Andy Hines

As geeks, we know a little something about clones, either being really cool or whole thing going horribly wrong. Cases in point; Star Wars (both the concept of Jango Fett clones and the Clone Wars animated series) and the Spider-Man Clone Saga (not that great). When we hear things about a BBC series based on the concept of clones, consider our interest piqued for better or worse. Now, when you add a beautiful actress as the main protagonist (and playing several different parts), your fishing trip is over. We’re basically in the boat at this point. This is essentially what BBC America has given us all with their new sci-fi series, Orphan Black.

Tatiana Maslany, as the main protagonist, Sarah.
Tatiana Maslany, as the main protagonist, Sarah.

As I explained to my editor when “pitching” the story, “it’s basically the Clone Saga with a beautiful woman and no powers, or in other words…interesting.” That’s possibly the best part of this series, the fact that it puts the “science” back into modern science fiction. There are no powers, no aliens, and no space ships. It’s a show about science run amok, albeit with the sciencey bits happening largely off-screen. While it is about cloning (and we haven’t even gotten into the ethical issues yet in the series), it’s a very human story about a woman learning these things about herself and at the same time, making a better life and trying to make things right for her and her daughter. The discovery that she’s been cloned and the struggle to reunite with her daughter, Kiera, makes this a wonderful story to be serialized in a television series. Especially when the BBC are the ones producing it.

Tatiana Maslany and Dylan Bruce in Orphan Black
Tatiana Maslany and Dylan Bruce in Orphan Black

With any luck, the show will move beyond just the first series, which I’m sort of obligated to call it since it’s a BBC production. The fact that one of the main characters, played by Kevin Hanchard, is a cop, and one of the clones’ partners should make for a very compelling show. It’s science-y at points, but the real magic hits in the very real interaction with the various characters, a third of whom are played by Maslany. This is thanks in no small part to co-creators Graeme Manson and John Fawcett who pull double duty (shut up) as writer and director, respectively. None of it feels forced or phoned-in, which certainly helps, as there will be at least 10 confirmed episodes for the first series. I know it’s normally called a season here, but it’s a British thing and we’re discussing a BBC show, now hush and drink your Earl Grey.