Hey folks,
Let's start off with this week's Fairfield County Community Theater Update (something that will become more "official" and get its own day to be updated later this year):
The Darien Players just ended a great run of Room Service. A fun show with a fun cast.
This is the last weekend of The Troupers Light Opera Company's production of Iolanthe. This fun Gilbert & Sullivan piece is well put together and highly enjoyable.
If you like Gilbert & Sullivan and are open to "re-interpretations", then check out Curtain Call's production of The Pirates of Penzance which opens this weekend. Sure, I'm plugging it for several reasons (wife and friends are part of the cast, friends with director, did the sound design)...but most importantly it's gonna be very funny. It runs through the end of April.
Lastly, I'm neck deep in rehearsals for Sly Fox which opens May 5 in Darien. I think I've got a great cast and they're all working really hard. The biggest challenge is going to be costumes and the set, but I've got good people working on both...and while it's looking like we're going to have to rent things from professionals I think it'll be worth it.
So...anyway...back to our regularly scheduled movie/TV reviews:
One of the funnier characters of the now defunct guilty pleasure Grounded For Life was goofy next door neighbor Brad. He was very likeable and not at all annoying or overbearing like Urkel. He was played by the funny and talented Brad Harrison who looked like he was going to be the replacement for Topher Grace on That 70s Show this past season. He was introduced last season as a rival of Eric's on that show, but before the start of the season Harrison got a lead in a new sitcom. He was gracious enough to let That 70s Show kill him off in a filmed cameo (the funniest bit in a so far yawn enducing final season...thank G-d they're wrapping it up in May). Meanwhile, Harrison's new show The Loop has finally premiered on FOX and boy did he make the right choice.
The Loop is about Sam (Harrison) who is the youngest executive at one of the biggest airlines. He's trying to balance life as an "adult" and life as a "post college grad". He lives with his crazy brother Sully (Eric Christian Olsen) and a couple of female friends, one of which he has a crush on but won't do anything about. His boss is hysterically played by Philip Baker Hall and one of his co-workers is Mimi Rogers, who's character is a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen as she's constantly dropping hints at Sam. Sam also has a secretary named Darcy, an Asian-American grad from MIT who constantly reminds him of how over qualified she is for her job.
The episodes that have aired so far have been mostly funny straight through (and the theme song is silly and catchy..."Hockey Monkey"...by The Zambonis). It airs Thursday nights at 8:30 on FOX and makes a nice pairing with My Name Is Earl if you switch over to NBC at 9pm.
In our effort to "catch up" on all the Oscar nominated movies we missed from last year, we've finally seen Good Night and Good Luck and Hustle and Flow. Both are well made films that definitely deserve the Oscar nominations they got (and I'd add that Ray Wise's performance in the former was over looked). Regardless of what you think of George Clooney's politics, Good Night and Good Luck is a good film that uses a past embarassment to look at some present issues (without being too heavy handed). Hustle and Flow is not for everyone as it presents a man doing everything he can to turn his life around from street thug to music artist. The Oscar winning song "It's Hard Out There To Be A Pimp" is actually a lot less "curious" of a choice once you've seen the film and get it stuch in your head. If you like good movies, you should try and catch both.
My last review for today is for a film that you can view via the internet for free if you look around. Loose Change is almost what Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 should have been. I say almost because it does take a few wrong turns towards the end. Some may say it's too soon to be asking questions about September 11, 2001, but there are a number of "facts" as presented that don't quite add up and this film asks a lot of questions that do need better answers. Most of the questions the film poses are bakced up with "evidence" (there's a very compelling argument that the World Trade Center was really brought down by a controlled implosion...which makes a lot more sense than the reasons we've "officially" been given...but there are probably other reasons for the public not knowing the "truth" right now and I won't suppose to venture into what they might be).
Where the film starts to lose its footing is when it ties the current administration into events and it goes completely off track once it gets into the story of Flight 93 (it's a bit hard to take a leap that the people on board the plane are alive and being hidden somewhere or worse). There are specious excuses to place the Bush Administration (or specific members of it) behind a vast conspiracy and the whole concept of conspiracy theories being true depends on many people keeping a secret (which quite honestly flies in the face of reality...most humans can't...particularly when you know there are others who know). The best I can say is take a look for yourself and draw your own conclusions. It's a fascinating film to say the least.
Just a reminder that you should all be watching Doctor Who on Sci-Fi Friday nights at 9pm. It's a great show and I want to see the second season without having to resort to illegal downloads again (I've assuaged my guilt on this already by importing the DVD box set from Canada since it's the exact same thing that will be released in the US in July).
Next time...more reviews and the start of my look at DC Comics new mini-series Infinite Crisis.
Be seeing you.
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