Well...we're back today with some TV reviews...
If you missed Sci Fi's airing of season two of Doctor Who, you can now catch it on DVD. Unfortunately, the "cliffhanger" ending will have to wait until Sci Fi airs season two this summer, but there are ways of catching the Christmas episode entitled "The Runaway Bride" and I highly recommend it. One of the funnier episodes that David Tennant has been in so far, this episode has all the good qualities of the new series while still embodying the stuff that made the classic series so classic.
And speaking of the good Doctor, the spin-off known as Torchwood recently completed its first season. While I have no idea when or if or where it will air in the United States, this is a great companion series without having to know anything about Doctor Who to follow along. This is essentially a British version of The X-Files as Captain Jack Harkness leads a team of four others who investigate strange occurances. It's not a perfect "spin-off", but it is a lot of fun. With all the sex and language in it, I'd be shocked to see it air on any of the US channels that have carried Doctor Who.
24 has returned with a vengeance. We're six hours into this season and we've seen a nuclear explosion in Valencia, CA and discovered that the mysterious bad guy running things last season is Jack's brother. Yikes. Its hard to judge this show without seeing the entire season first. Last year was probably the best story-wise, with the least amount of logic gaps. This time, we're six hours in and Jack's only been off a plane from China for about 5 and a half of those. I know I'd have been spending that time sleeping.
Kidnapped finished its run online at NBC.com. Only 5 of 13 episodes aired onbroadcast TV and thankfully NBC gave the team enough notice to wrap it all up by the end. While they did wrap up the main story and told a pretty well told tale in the process, they did leave things open for future adventures of Jeremy Sisto's character (which will never come anyway). Here's hoping for a DVD release of this engaging story.
Big Day is a lot like 24 in that an entire season is the course of events of one day. here, that one day is leading towards a wedding. This funny show barely got the chance to do anything as ABC burned it off in rapid time during November & December. While I thought they aired all the episodes shot and the last episode aired had a nice "resolution" to the chaos, it turns out there are still two episodes unaired (they were scheduled to air last night, but instead ABC went with Meet The Fockers) hopefully we'll get to see just how the show ended (probably in mid-story...so maybe its best it ended where it did).
Help Me Help You marked Ted Danson's return to TV yet again. While I found this sitcom about a shrink and his group therapy patients rather funny, apparently no one else did and ABC cancelled it before it was halfway done airing the episodes they did shoot. Oh well.
That's all for today. I'm plugging away at holes in my list for the Best & Worst of 2006 in movies and hope to have it posted before the Oscars.
I'll be back soon.
Be seeing you.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Monday, January 22, 2007
Catching Up on More 2006 Movie Releases
Just trying to quickly catch up on reviews of TV shows and Movies I don't think I've covered yet. It's been a crazy couple of months (holidays, shows, Malcolm, etc)...so I've been a bit lax. Trying to get back on a schedule desperately.
Anyway...
American Pie Presents The Naked Mile -- After three hit movies, Universal decided to take this "franchise" the direct-to-video route. This second DTV Movie (making it part 5 in the series) is a marked improvement over the last one (which made my Worst 5 list last year if I remember correctly). Focusing on yet another Stifler, this one being the black sheep of the family (he's an innocent virgin), this film still has some tasteless silliness in it, an out of place appearance by Eugene Levy in some bizarre attempt to keep continuity and a sub plot involving a fraternity of midgets...but it also has some really funny bits (like the over-the-top raunchy opening involving Matt Stifler's accidentally killing his grandmother...won't tell you how, just see the film...it almost rivals Eugene Levy walking in on his son and the pie in the first film). Worth a rental if you've got some time and want to chuckle a bit (and like boobs as there's lots) and no prior knowledge is really necessary of the series.
Dreamgirls -- This year's Broadway musical turned movie is a huge step up from what we got last year. Engaging and energetic, this film is getting a lot of praise and its all deserved. Jennifer Hudson's standout performance as Effie White will have you in awe (especially during her big number "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"). The only "weak" bit is the insertion of a new song for Beyonce's Deena Jones that reeks of a diva needing a song because the best song in the show is going to the "secondary" character (see my above comment about Jennifer Hudson's Effie White). Eddie Murphy also reminds us he has talent beyond dressing in fat suits and latex boobs before Norbit opens. If you like musicals, you need to see this. One of the best films of the year.
Snakes on a Plane -- The title says it all. You get about 30 minutes or so of set up (Samuel L. Jackson is an FBI agent escorting a murder witness to a safe place away from gangsters trying to kill him) and then all hell brakes loose (the gangsters try to kill the witness by putting snakes on the plane). The last 20 minutes (just as Jackson utters his most famous line from the trailer) the film turns into one of the funniest films ever (watching Jackson and Keenan Thompson trying to land the plane was one of the funniest things this year). Worth a rental, but know what you're getting (remember its called Snakes on a Plane, not Schindler's List).
Children of Men -- This dystopian sci-fi thriller is not only one of the best depictions of a possible future to come along in a very long time, its (as of now) the best film I've seen from 2006. Clive Owen does an amazing job as a government clerk who gets involved in transporting a woman who may hold the key to humankind's survival (the movie's premise is that by the year 2027 all women will have been infertile for 18 years...meaning the human race is just waiting to die out). Moving and uplifting, this is a film that will make you think. Everyone should see it (especially since it does have parallels to what's going on in our world today...which may anger some who lean to the right on certain subjects).
The Prestige/The Illusionist -- Two films about magicians at the turn of the century (the previous ones) that have a lot in common and yet are vastly different. Both are amazingly well written and well acted and I can't wait to see them again. While we could have done without the "Usual Suspects" recap at the end of The Illusionist (the one that stars Edward Norton) since you should have seen the "surprise" ending coming a mile (or ten) away, we needed the one at the end of The Prestige (the one that pits Batman Christian Bale against Wolverine Hugh Jackman) if only to hammer home the "twist" (and its ramifications) even more.
Cars -- Pixar's streak continues with this funny film for all ages. Though there's some irony in a film that seems nostalgic for a time when small business was the way of the world being made by Disney & Pixar.
Beer Fest -- The guys at Broken Lizard bring us another really funny film (this one about a secret beer drinking competition) that has some odd bits that don't work (like one of the characters waking up like the main character in An American Werewolf in London or another where they kill off one of the characters in an odd way and then replace him with a twin brother). Worth a look if you like to laugh.
Beer League -- I gotta admit...I don't have time for movies that don't engage me after a while. This one took me ten minutes to give up on. It seemed like it was basically The Bad News Bears with drunken grownups.
Scoop -- Woody Allen brings us his annual film. This one, about a dead journalist who returns to impart a big murder story on a journalist student who then becomes romantically linked to the suspect, is better than most, but not as good as others (in the Woody Allen genre...let's face it...the man does deserve his own genre at this point).
You, Me and Dupree -- Having grown rather tired of Owen Wilson, I was very surprised at how cute & charming this film was. Don't expect more out of this story about a guy still holding onto his youth while essentially living with his newly married best friend. I do have one complaint...Wilson & Matt Dillon are no longer young enough to seem like they're just out of college...or grad school...or even a doctorate program. Younger actors might have made this more believable.
Nacho Libre -- My wife is a big Jack Black fan and even she was bored after 10 minutes. So back in the Netflix envelope it went.
Well, that's all for today. I'll be back tomorrow (or soon there after) with a catch up on TV shows.
Be seeing you.
Anyway...
American Pie Presents The Naked Mile -- After three hit movies, Universal decided to take this "franchise" the direct-to-video route. This second DTV Movie (making it part 5 in the series) is a marked improvement over the last one (which made my Worst 5 list last year if I remember correctly). Focusing on yet another Stifler, this one being the black sheep of the family (he's an innocent virgin), this film still has some tasteless silliness in it, an out of place appearance by Eugene Levy in some bizarre attempt to keep continuity and a sub plot involving a fraternity of midgets...but it also has some really funny bits (like the over-the-top raunchy opening involving Matt Stifler's accidentally killing his grandmother...won't tell you how, just see the film...it almost rivals Eugene Levy walking in on his son and the pie in the first film). Worth a rental if you've got some time and want to chuckle a bit (and like boobs as there's lots) and no prior knowledge is really necessary of the series.
Dreamgirls -- This year's Broadway musical turned movie is a huge step up from what we got last year. Engaging and energetic, this film is getting a lot of praise and its all deserved. Jennifer Hudson's standout performance as Effie White will have you in awe (especially during her big number "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"). The only "weak" bit is the insertion of a new song for Beyonce's Deena Jones that reeks of a diva needing a song because the best song in the show is going to the "secondary" character (see my above comment about Jennifer Hudson's Effie White). Eddie Murphy also reminds us he has talent beyond dressing in fat suits and latex boobs before Norbit opens. If you like musicals, you need to see this. One of the best films of the year.
Snakes on a Plane -- The title says it all. You get about 30 minutes or so of set up (Samuel L. Jackson is an FBI agent escorting a murder witness to a safe place away from gangsters trying to kill him) and then all hell brakes loose (the gangsters try to kill the witness by putting snakes on the plane). The last 20 minutes (just as Jackson utters his most famous line from the trailer) the film turns into one of the funniest films ever (watching Jackson and Keenan Thompson trying to land the plane was one of the funniest things this year). Worth a rental, but know what you're getting (remember its called Snakes on a Plane, not Schindler's List).
Children of Men -- This dystopian sci-fi thriller is not only one of the best depictions of a possible future to come along in a very long time, its (as of now) the best film I've seen from 2006. Clive Owen does an amazing job as a government clerk who gets involved in transporting a woman who may hold the key to humankind's survival (the movie's premise is that by the year 2027 all women will have been infertile for 18 years...meaning the human race is just waiting to die out). Moving and uplifting, this is a film that will make you think. Everyone should see it (especially since it does have parallels to what's going on in our world today...which may anger some who lean to the right on certain subjects).
The Prestige/The Illusionist -- Two films about magicians at the turn of the century (the previous ones) that have a lot in common and yet are vastly different. Both are amazingly well written and well acted and I can't wait to see them again. While we could have done without the "Usual Suspects" recap at the end of The Illusionist (the one that stars Edward Norton) since you should have seen the "surprise" ending coming a mile (or ten) away, we needed the one at the end of The Prestige (the one that pits Batman Christian Bale against Wolverine Hugh Jackman) if only to hammer home the "twist" (and its ramifications) even more.
Cars -- Pixar's streak continues with this funny film for all ages. Though there's some irony in a film that seems nostalgic for a time when small business was the way of the world being made by Disney & Pixar.
Beer Fest -- The guys at Broken Lizard bring us another really funny film (this one about a secret beer drinking competition) that has some odd bits that don't work (like one of the characters waking up like the main character in An American Werewolf in London or another where they kill off one of the characters in an odd way and then replace him with a twin brother). Worth a look if you like to laugh.
Beer League -- I gotta admit...I don't have time for movies that don't engage me after a while. This one took me ten minutes to give up on. It seemed like it was basically The Bad News Bears with drunken grownups.
Scoop -- Woody Allen brings us his annual film. This one, about a dead journalist who returns to impart a big murder story on a journalist student who then becomes romantically linked to the suspect, is better than most, but not as good as others (in the Woody Allen genre...let's face it...the man does deserve his own genre at this point).
You, Me and Dupree -- Having grown rather tired of Owen Wilson, I was very surprised at how cute & charming this film was. Don't expect more out of this story about a guy still holding onto his youth while essentially living with his newly married best friend. I do have one complaint...Wilson & Matt Dillon are no longer young enough to seem like they're just out of college...or grad school...or even a doctorate program. Younger actors might have made this more believable.
Nacho Libre -- My wife is a big Jack Black fan and even she was bored after 10 minutes. So back in the Netflix envelope it went.
Well, that's all for today. I'll be back tomorrow (or soon there after) with a catch up on TV shows.
Be seeing you.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
A Very Mini New Year
Hey folks,
Some of you have heard me express my fascination with a toy known as the MiniMate. This block figure has 14 points of artculation in a compact 2 inch size. They're cute and don't take up a lot of room. And they're like the plastic equivalent of crack. Once you get started, you can't stop.
Now in their 5th year of existance, they are apparently gunning for that retro "Mego" feel for people who grew up in the 1970s with the action figures from that company.
You see, Mego had licenses for DC, Marvel, Star Trek, Planet of the Apes and a number of other things and the best part is everyone was in the same scale. You could team up Batman & Spider-Man and have them fight Kirk & Doctor Zaius if you wanted to and it wouldn't look funny (well...beyond it looking funny).
Art Asylum & Diamond Select Toys started the year off with a cool concept to launch their Battlestar Galactica MiniMates. Limited editions of Cylons (both classic and modern) in single packs to build armies (a case would get you 12 Cylons, at least one each of 5 different kinds). This spring we get the first 7 MiniMates from the new TV series and they will be showing off the next 14 (Waves 2 & 3) at Toy Fair next month.
Meanwhile, the Marvel MiniMates line is about to enjoy its 14th Wave. Seven figures based on X-Men: The Last Stand will make their debut in a month or two. They will be followed by 7 figures from the Ghost Rider movie in Wave 15. The Marvel line has been at a bit of a stand still of late. Last year we only saw waves 12 & 13 and those were full of retreads and repaints (yet another version of Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain America and a few others). Thankfully, once these two new waves are done (since the movie lines seem to be bringing us people we've seen before in comic book versions or people with coats & shovels) they're finally giving the fans what they've been craving...Avengers! In 16 waves and with dozens of MAJOR characters in the Marvel Universe to play with, it is inexcuseable that it has taken them this long to bring us Thor. Now if only they can get me a Doctor Strange, I'll be very happy.
Hopefully, there'll be more announcements for Marvel MiniMates at Toy Fair (or later in the year at San Diego Comic Con). The rest of Wave 16 consists of Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, She-Hulk and Wonder Man with a variant Bearded Thor.
Meanwhile, Art Asylum & DC Comics have announced 5 waves of DC MiniMates (and there'll probably be a 6th as they seem to be coming every other month) with the first about to hit at the end of February. In just 5 waves, DC has already put the lack of variety in the Marvel line to shame (Compare Marvel's first 5 waves which consisted of 35 figures that broke down into 9 villains, 4 women, 4 Daredevils and 6 Spider-Mans to DCs which consists of 40 figures of which 13 are villains, 8 are women and the only repeats are Batman & Superman who get 2 figures each). They've got a Ma Hunkle MiniMate coming out for goodness sake (she was the comical Golden Age Red Tornado). If that doesn't show that DC's got a great continuing lineup in store for us in the future I don't know what does.
Meanwhile, back at licenses that Diamond Select has...they've revived the Star Trek MiniMates that Art Asylum originally made back in 2003 when they were in the 3 inch scale. The first wave does feature some repeat characters (Kirk, Spock & McCoy) but gives us some new ones as well (Pike, Vina & Scotty) as well as continuing DST's "chase figure" theme in a smart way (Dress Uniform McCoy comes with Scotty...swap out Scotty's head for an extra one from one of the other lines and you've got your own unnamed Red Shirted Ensign to be killed by...well...Vina I suppose or the 3 inch tall versions of the Gorn, the Mugatu or Khan...at least until some real bad guys appear in this line). Hopefully we'll see more than just "Classic" Trek in this line. Heck, hopefully we'll see more than just one wave.
Lastly, DST has announced MiniMates for both Rocky & 24 (there's an odd combo) and they supposedly hold the mini figure licenses for Serenity, Stargate & Buffy (particularly now that Palisades Toys and their wonderful Palz line have died and gone away).
MiniMates are very cool and while its unfortunate that certain licenses didn't work out (we only got two waves for Lord of the Rings), 2007 is shaping up to be a great year for the small guys. Can't wait to see what comes out of Toy Fair in February.
For more info or pictures check out www.minimatescentral.com or www.minimateheadquarters.com or www.artasylum.com
Meanwhile, I'll be back in a few days with a MASSIVE catch up on movie reviews (Dreamgirls, Children of Men, The Prestige, The Illusionist, Snakes on a Plane, Beer Fest, Beer League, Cars and a few others).
Be seeing you.
Some of you have heard me express my fascination with a toy known as the MiniMate. This block figure has 14 points of artculation in a compact 2 inch size. They're cute and don't take up a lot of room. And they're like the plastic equivalent of crack. Once you get started, you can't stop.
Now in their 5th year of existance, they are apparently gunning for that retro "Mego" feel for people who grew up in the 1970s with the action figures from that company.
You see, Mego had licenses for DC, Marvel, Star Trek, Planet of the Apes and a number of other things and the best part is everyone was in the same scale. You could team up Batman & Spider-Man and have them fight Kirk & Doctor Zaius if you wanted to and it wouldn't look funny (well...beyond it looking funny).
Art Asylum & Diamond Select Toys started the year off with a cool concept to launch their Battlestar Galactica MiniMates. Limited editions of Cylons (both classic and modern) in single packs to build armies (a case would get you 12 Cylons, at least one each of 5 different kinds). This spring we get the first 7 MiniMates from the new TV series and they will be showing off the next 14 (Waves 2 & 3) at Toy Fair next month.
Meanwhile, the Marvel MiniMates line is about to enjoy its 14th Wave. Seven figures based on X-Men: The Last Stand will make their debut in a month or two. They will be followed by 7 figures from the Ghost Rider movie in Wave 15. The Marvel line has been at a bit of a stand still of late. Last year we only saw waves 12 & 13 and those were full of retreads and repaints (yet another version of Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain America and a few others). Thankfully, once these two new waves are done (since the movie lines seem to be bringing us people we've seen before in comic book versions or people with coats & shovels) they're finally giving the fans what they've been craving...Avengers! In 16 waves and with dozens of MAJOR characters in the Marvel Universe to play with, it is inexcuseable that it has taken them this long to bring us Thor. Now if only they can get me a Doctor Strange, I'll be very happy.
Hopefully, there'll be more announcements for Marvel MiniMates at Toy Fair (or later in the year at San Diego Comic Con). The rest of Wave 16 consists of Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, She-Hulk and Wonder Man with a variant Bearded Thor.
Meanwhile, Art Asylum & DC Comics have announced 5 waves of DC MiniMates (and there'll probably be a 6th as they seem to be coming every other month) with the first about to hit at the end of February. In just 5 waves, DC has already put the lack of variety in the Marvel line to shame (Compare Marvel's first 5 waves which consisted of 35 figures that broke down into 9 villains, 4 women, 4 Daredevils and 6 Spider-Mans to DCs which consists of 40 figures of which 13 are villains, 8 are women and the only repeats are Batman & Superman who get 2 figures each). They've got a Ma Hunkle MiniMate coming out for goodness sake (she was the comical Golden Age Red Tornado). If that doesn't show that DC's got a great continuing lineup in store for us in the future I don't know what does.
Meanwhile, back at licenses that Diamond Select has...they've revived the Star Trek MiniMates that Art Asylum originally made back in 2003 when they were in the 3 inch scale. The first wave does feature some repeat characters (Kirk, Spock & McCoy) but gives us some new ones as well (Pike, Vina & Scotty) as well as continuing DST's "chase figure" theme in a smart way (Dress Uniform McCoy comes with Scotty...swap out Scotty's head for an extra one from one of the other lines and you've got your own unnamed Red Shirted Ensign to be killed by...well...Vina I suppose or the 3 inch tall versions of the Gorn, the Mugatu or Khan...at least until some real bad guys appear in this line). Hopefully we'll see more than just "Classic" Trek in this line. Heck, hopefully we'll see more than just one wave.
Lastly, DST has announced MiniMates for both Rocky & 24 (there's an odd combo) and they supposedly hold the mini figure licenses for Serenity, Stargate & Buffy (particularly now that Palisades Toys and their wonderful Palz line have died and gone away).
MiniMates are very cool and while its unfortunate that certain licenses didn't work out (we only got two waves for Lord of the Rings), 2007 is shaping up to be a great year for the small guys. Can't wait to see what comes out of Toy Fair in February.
For more info or pictures check out www.minimatescentral.com or www.minimateheadquarters.com or www.artasylum.com
Meanwhile, I'll be back in a few days with a MASSIVE catch up on movie reviews (Dreamgirls, Children of Men, The Prestige, The Illusionist, Snakes on a Plane, Beer Fest, Beer League, Cars and a few others).
Be seeing you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)